It was speculated to be only a one-night stand. As a substitute, Karina Lopez, 33, and Curtis Rogers, 35, have been collectively for 12 years and even personal three companies collectively now, all primarily based in Manhattan and Buffalo, N.Y. — KC Public Relations; KC You There, a marriage planning and design firm; and Minibar Cellular.
The 2 met in June 2009 at a farewell social gathering that Ms. Lopez was internet hosting at her residence after her commencement from the College at Buffalo. Mr. Rogers was crashing the social gathering. The subsequent night time they met up for what was speculated to be a “informal” hookup that ended up lasting for 4 days. “We noticed one another each second we may,” Ms. Lopez mentioned.
Ten years after that very prolonged one-night stand, Mr. Rogers proposed.
It was Memorial Day weekend 2019, throughout a birthday dinner for Mr. Rogers at Sugarcane Uncooked Bar Grill in Brooklyn. “I thanked everybody for coming to my birthday and our engagement weekend,” Mr. Rogers mentioned. Earlier than Ms. Lopez may react to his joke, Mr. Rogers pulled out an engagement ring and requested Ms. Lopez to marry him.
The pandemic put the kibosh on their first deliberate wedding ceremony weekend — July 31 to Aug. 2, 2020. In order that they rescheduled their retreat-style wedding ceremony for this 12 months, Might 30 to June 1, at their unique location, Cedar Lakes Property, previously a camp in Port Jervis, N.Y.
Ms. Lopez, who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Plainview, N.Y., has a bachelor’s diploma in communication from the College at Buffalo. Mr. Rogers, born in Amherst, N.Y., and raised in Buffalo, graduated from Medaille School with a bachelor’s and a grasp’s diploma in enterprise.
Wedding ceremony visitors traveled from numerous locations, some so far as Puerto Rico, Texas and California, to collect for the weekend celebration. It started with a margarita-style welcome drink the couple referred to as the “Fifi-rita,” named after their teacup poodle, Fifi.
Their welcome social gathering included a pig roast, “for which my mom, Maritza, discovered it essential to ship her seasoning a number of weeks prior for use on the pig,” Ms. Lopez mentioned. After the Southern-inspired dinner, visitors danced till late into the night.
The day of the marriage, Might 31, visitors spent the afternoon having fun with the beer backyard and swimming within the pool and within the lake earlier than it was time for the primary occasion.
For the ceremony, Ms. Lopez wore a robe from the Australian designer Martina Liana and carried a bouquet of lilies of the valley. Mr. Rogers wore a customized tuxedo from Tom Barnett that bore a monogram of the couple’s initials. The couple had been married lakeside at 6 p.m. by their longtime pal Chris Kozlowski, who was ordained by the Common Life Church for the occasion. “It was magical,” Ms. Lopez mentioned. “The solar was actually glistening off the water and the rays had been seeping by the bushes.”
To pay homage to their prolonged one-night stand that was a lifelong dedication, Ms. Lopez shocked Mr. Rogers with a customized flag to hold on the cell minibar and later at house. “That is the story of a one-night stand,” the flag learn.
Visitors later loved what appeared like a live performance on the reception by the band Sound Home by Elan Artists, with 4 lead singers, three horns, keyboard, guitar, bass, drums and Latin percussion. “They really made your entire reception,” Ms. Lopez mentioned.
The subsequent morning, visitors gathered for a farewell brunch. “Our family and friends requested, ‘Are we going to have a one-year-anniversary social gathering right here?’” Ms. Lopez mentioned.