Zoey and Max’s Fieldhouse at Old School Square Wedding
Over the years since moving to Florida, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful people in the wedding industry. And, as you may remember from my post on this engagement session, Zoey and I met at an Addison event. I’ve been so fortunate as to not only have had the pleasure of working with her at other weddings and to continue to grow our friendship on a more personal level, but now have had the honor of photographing Zoey and Max’s Fieldhouse at Old School Square wedding!
Behind Every Good Couple is a Good Love Story
This couple met at a small Irish bar in Boca Raton, O’Brian’s, through a mutual friend. It wasn’t a set-up. Max just decided to meet up with the group and the two ended up connecting and talking the entire night. They didn’t even exchange numbers. He friended Zoey on Facebook and they would chat sporadically, but since they both had upcoming vacations at the time, they didn’t end up going out on an actual date until a month after that night in O’Brian’s!
He Put a Ring on It
A proposal story is only good coming straight from the couple themselves. So here is Zoey on how Max ended up putting a ring on it and they came to planning their Fieldhouse at Old School Square wedding:
“Max and I decided to extend our trip after a friends wedding in Vermont. We drove out to Maine to celebrate my birthday. We both had never been so figured it would be fun to road trip out there and eat a ton of lobster rolls.
That morning we went to this tiny hot diner cart that Max had heard about (since he always researches restaurants when we go out of town). I was super sleepy because I wasn’t sleeping well. Because of this, he thought I was in a bad mood when all I needed was a whole lot of coffee!
As we’re hanging out in this tiny diner, the Ray Charles song, ‘I got a woman’ came on the radio. Instantly, we both smiled. One of the first times I met Max’s friends, we all were hanging out in a bar in Delray. That song came on the radio and he serenaded me. I’ll never forget it, so it was just a funny little moment we shared six years later.
After the diner cart, we went to the picturesque lighthouse in Portland, the one that’s on all of the postcards! We set up a little spot to sit on this field just off to the side of the lighthouse. Max sat down next to me and started pulling cards out of his backpack. This was a bit confusing because my birthday was the day before. He told me to open them all and I started reading these cards from both my family and his family. All I kept thinking was ‘wow, these cards are all so freakin’ nice!’
And then the moment came. He told me that he wanted me to know how much my family and his family loved me, and that we were going to be together forever. At that moment, he pulled out the ring box!
The funny thing was that after he proposed, he told me that he almost abandoned his plan to ask me at the lighthouse. When that song came on the radio at the hot diner cart, he considered asking me right then and there. He was so glad he didn’t because when we got to the light house and stepped out into the fresh air from the car, he said he could tell my mood instantly changed. It was worth waiting for that planned moment. I said ‘we can chalk it up as a great sign!'”
The Fieldhouse at Old School Square Wedding
The Fieldhouse at Old School Square caught the couple’s attention. Since Max and Zoey are a very casual couple, they wanted “something a little more ‘us’ that had an understated charm.” The great thing about the Fieldhouse is that it can be dressed up, or it can be what it is: an old gym with wood floors with exposed ceilings, bringing the nostalgia of a high school dance.
Zoey, being a business owner and homeowner in Delray Beach, really wanted to keep it local. The venue is also located in downtown Delray, with so many great bars around. This provides a great opportunity to continue the party post-wedding!
First Look
According to Zoey, “the best part of the wedding day was the first look. I was so nervous once we were actually enroute to the venue. I think if Max and I didn’t have that little moment, it could have been an entirely different experience. It was so amazing to be able to walk up to him, someone who I’ve been with for 6 years at the time, and have him look at me like he never had before. As I mentioned, we are super casual. It was an amazing few minutes to calm our nerves and remember why we were doing this in the first place.”
Personal Touches
“We decided not to have a traditional dinner service. Instea, we hired three food trucks giving all of our guests access to eat from all of them. The tables filled with food was certainly a sight! It really was a food fest, considering we also had an insane bounty table of hors d’ouerves and passed items during cocktail hour.”
Not-Your-Average Cake and Dessert Table
“As I mentioned, I own a small bakery owned and operated by my family called Two Fat Cookies. Of course we had a crazy dessert display.
Max really wanted to make the wedding cake, but realized that it may be a better idea to make it together. I baked the cake layers and then he came to the bakery with me. The cake layers were assembled by him, as well as some of the icing. We did the actual detailing together. It really put the icing on the cake … see what I did there!”
Notes from the Bride
“The funny thing is, I never really wanted to have a big wedding. I said for years that we would have a party in the backyard catered by Chipotle. The whole idea of being the center of attention was not for me. I have to say I’m so glad we ended up going for it. It is 100% possible to make your wedding as “you” as you want it to be.
Also, a great friend told me something that really stayed with me, ‘this is the one time that everyone you know and love is going to be there just for you, all together in one room.’ How much better can it get than that?
My advice for anyone planning a wedding is try not to stress yourself out too much! It can be overwhelming at times, but in reality, if 80% of it goes go plan, it’s a success and you’ve married the person that you can’t imagine doing life without!”
