Lina and Matthew’s Maryland handmade wedding will inspire your planning! This incredible couple’s wedding was this past fall in Baltimore, Maryland. Their wedding has some beautiful handmade touches that you’re sure to enjoy. To create the perfect event, Lina and Matthew sought the creative planning talents of Esme Krahn from BodaMaestra. Esme tells more about how this couple met, their proposal, and the styling ideas.

Maryland Handmade Wedding

Esme tells us, “Like a growing number of couples in the digital age, Lina and Matthew ‘met’ for the first time via Skype. Incredibly, they were separated by nearly 2,500 miles, with Lina living in Bogota, Colombia and Matthew in Baltimore, MD. Their initial connection was prompted by Matthew’s sister-in-law, Sara, who – as the constantly shrinking globe would have it – also happened to be Lina’s friend from college! Although both Lina and Matthew were nervous about getting to know each other this way, their nightly Skype sessions soon became the most exciting part of the day.”

“I fell for her instantly,” Matthew recalls. “We would spend hours talking about life and our stories. We quickly realized that we had so many things in common and we both had this strange feeling that we had known each other for a long time. After about a week of talking with Lina, I decided that I needed to buy an airplane ticket to Bogotá. I very politely asked if that was OK. The smile Lina gave me was all the answer I needed. It would be five long weeks until we would meet in person.”

“It seemed like a dream to me,” says Lina. “I didn’t think that a man like him would be real.”

When they saw each other at the airport for the first time in person, Lina couldn’t believe Matthew was finally there. As for Matthew, any sense of anxiety or nervousness that he had going in disappeared the moment he laid eyes on her.

On August 2, 2014, Matthew was ready to ask Lina to marry him. It happened at Lina’s parents’ home, during a gathering where friends and family were present. At dinner, while everyone was visiting, Matthew held Lina’s hand and told her that she made him the happiest man in the world. He then went down on one knee and, in front of the group, asked Lina: “Will you marry me?” Lina gave him a resounding yes!

With only two months to plan the wedding, Lina found Esme of BodaMaestra through her videographer, Clif Matheson. Lina arrived to Baltimore just three weeks before the big day. By then, the planning and styling of the wedding was done (thank you, Pinterest!). Lina and Matthew had several online meetings with Esme in order to discuss and refine all the important details, including the flow of the ceremony, wedding flowers, cake design, Lina’s wedding dress, and Matthew’s attire.

“Lina and Matthew wanted an intimate fall wedding with lots of bright colors mixed with a sense of romanticism and elegance,” said Esme, who happens to specialize in planning weddings for multicultural and Latino couples. “Although Lina is fully bilingual, she found it refreshing and comforting that we did all the planning in Spanish. Since the wedding took place in Baltimore, I also provided Lina with wedding etiquette advice that is not necessarily a part of Colombia’s customs.”

Wedding Vendors:
Venue: Kali’s Court
Wedding Planning: BodaMaestra
Floral Design: EightTreeStreet
Photography: J Stuart Harris Photography
Celebrant: All Faith Weddings
Posters: Paper Blossom Socials
Cake: Patisserie Poupon
Videography: Matheson Communications, Inc.
Ceremony Music: Alan Oresky – Violinist & Mandolinist

Did you enjoy this wedding? If you’re planning your wedding, check out BodaMaestra! Esme’s hands-on experience will help guide you through the entire wedding planning process. You can also visit her preferred Washington DC wedding planners listing in our wedding vendor guide.