Weird, right? Who meets their soulmate on Craigslist? Melisa Enke did! Mario’s ad wasn’t your typical “man seeking woman” personal ad – more of a rant describing the women he was tired of meeting. Melisa was curious about this guy who was so specific, and wondered what he would do if he met someone who met all his criteria, and whether it might be her. After a few email exchanges, they decided to meet at a restaurant, but to make it interesting, she didn’t send him a picture – he would have to pick her out of the crowd. It was a busy Friday night at the restaurant, but Mario was up for the challenge, and he did finally find her, and the rest is history.
When they first met, Melisa says, Mario seemed to good to be true! He was chivalrous, respectful, kind, and generous. “I kept waiting for the ‘nice guy’ to pull the disappearing act – but after a year of dating he was still around. I still couldn’t believe he was for real so I gave it a second year, and sure enough, the ‘nice guy’ was still around. He cared about my feelings, we could talk about our issues, but somehow, I was still doubtful. There is just no possible way this guy could be so amazing! He persisted – for two more years, and I finally started to get that this is who he is. As it was starting to sink in, I woke up one day and it just dawned on me, I can’t, I don’t want to live without him. He had become my rock and my Prince Charming. Now, when I look back, I realize that on our second date that my soul knew that he would be special to me, but I tried to ignore that. I’m so thankful he stuck around and to this day he still is the same wonderful man.”
When they were first dating, Mario took Melisa to the El Dorado Town Center for a birthday picnic. He suprised her with some very thoughtful gifts and a bottle of her favorite wine, and they sat at that park bench and laughed and talked for hours. Fast forward to four years later, they had just moved into a new house and Mario was talking about getting a dog, but Melisa was not eager to introduce a puppy into their household. True to form, Mario knew exactly what he wanted, and after brunch one Sunday, although they had planned to go furniture shopping, Mario headed in the opposite direction when they left the restaurant.
Melisa, a true “Type A” personality, started peppering him with questions, “Where are we going!” “Why are we going the wrong way?” He just kept saying “You’ll see”. And then it dawned on her, “We’re going to get a dog!” to which he responded “We’re just going to go look.” Melisa admits now that she started to get mad. No one goes and “looks” at puppies – you always come home with one because who can resist a puppy?
Melisa wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She gave Mario one reason after another why getting a dog was a bad idea, but he seemed determined. They arrived at Town Center, and a cheerful Mario led Melissa, arms crossed and clearly annoyed, to the park, observing “Looks like the people with the dog aren’t here yet.” It was a beautiful sunny day as they approached the bench where they had that birthday picnic a few years ago. Mario reminded Melisa about that day, which had always been a humorous memory for them, mostly due to the copious amounts of wine we enjoyed. We were laughing about that day when Mario said it was then that he first knew he loved me. In a few moments he was down on one knee – and Melisa was thrilled to say “YES!”
They decided to get married in Mexico! “We are two very busy people and what was important to us was spending quality time with friends and family for this special time in our lives. We wanted to have a vacation destination where we could spend multiple days with the people closest to us.” Melisa found a promising looking resort online, and started to research it. It looked amazing, but she wasn’t going to commit to having her wedding at someplace she’d never been, so a year prior to their wedding date, they took a trip to go check it out, and fortunately, it did meet their expectations. So they booked the date (they were married on her parents’ 49th wedding anniversary) and shared the big news with their friends!
Looking back, Melisa says that planning her wedding was fun. “Planning a destination wedding is quite a bit different than planning a local wedding. I used the internet endlessly. Most of my wedding plan was done with my iPad. I spent hours researching destination weddings and the possibilities – no one I know had done a destination wedding. Since meeting my vendors in person was not an option, I had to rely on the web, email and the occasional phone call.” Mario was part of the process too. He was in charge of putting together a “Meet and Greet” party before the wedding so all of the guests could get to know each other before the trip, and he was also in charge of the budget. Melisa reports that although they did have some difficult moments, things worked out well in the end because they had a clear vision of what we wanted the day to be like.
The best part of the planning process? Checking things off the To-Do list! Melisa says, “I have a Type A personality, so, as they say, the devil is in the details. I made sure our guests were ready to travel – most had never left the country so I wanted to make sure they knew what to expect. I made ‘Out of Town’ bags to be handed out at the Meet and Greet party. That was particularly fun because I got to tap into my creative side. Mario and I enjoyed coming up with ideas for our wedding that were special to us – we didn’t want a ‘cookie cutter’ wedding so it was fun coming up with ways to make our guests feel special and to really make the day memorable for us.”
The couple didn’t have a specific theme in mind, but wanted a wedding that would be remembered as elegant, clean, and classy, with a splash of color and a bit of bling. For inspiration, Melisa pulled from the 1940’s a bit. Black and white, with a bit of sparkle. She used real china, real glass and an abundance of flowers. The reception was held by candlelight, with Chinese lanterns swaying above. Beautiful!
Their favorite moments of the day? Mario savored the anticipation of getting ready, waiting with his brother and best friend for “Go” time, and the first time he saw Melisa as she started walking down the aisle. For Melisa, it was when she “broke the rules” and peeked out of the hotel room window, seeing Mario down on the beach taking his pre-wedding photos. He looked so handsome! Melisa admits being overwhelmed with emotion – she was finally getting her “Happily Ever After”!
After the wedding and reception, they had an impromptu karaoke session at the hotel bar. Almost everyone who came along “just to watch” ended up singing. The whole evening was just amazing. Melisa says, “Our entire wedding was a blast. With a destination wedding we had five days in advance to spend time with everyone and it was all just so fun!” Their wedding met their expectations and then some. “We talk all the time about how we would love to the same thing all over again. I wouldn’t change a thing!”
Looking back, Melisa says, “Our wedding day was truly amazing. Because our wedding was small and only close friends and family, the feeling of love was incredibly present. Mario and I were both very aware that we were getting married because we were choosing to spend our lives with each other. We chose to share the day, and the moment, with the people in attendance. Everything we did was a choice, we didn’t do anything because we felt like we ‘had’ to.”
“I think we were both surprised at how emotional everyone was. Mario and I not only exchanged our own vows, but we made vows to our parents as well. We walked over and held hands with each of our families, and made vows to take care of each other. I distinctly remember looking at our guests after those moments and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. With our toasts, our bridal party said such heartfelt words that everyone was crying. It really hit home for us that the people we shared our day with, genuinely love and care for us.”
And now that the wedding is just a wonderful memory, Melisa tells us, “We just love hanging out together. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing because we are literally best friends so we have a good time doing just about anything. We love to travel, we spend time with friends and family. We have taken dance lessons, gone to art and wine festivals. We are always up for new experiences.
And it appears that Mario got everything he wanted in the end – at the top of the list of their favorite things to do together is taking their dog for a long walk!
PHOTOS: Red Sneaker Studio
