Bridget Murphy and Larry Storey’s romance began with the unlikeliest of events: a rejection. Their story is the stuff of Hollywood, an improbable plotline that proves that true love works in conjunction with fate and timing. And just before the credits roll, the couple wins their dream wedding, a celebration valued at $100,000.
But before all that, there must be a little heartache.
It’s not you, it’s me
In January 2006, Bridget, 33, found Larry, 39, on Match.com and sent him an e-mail to express her interest. She received a thanks-but-no-thanks note that was very thoughtful, but still a refusal. “I was like ‘What?!’,” says Bridget.
Over a year later, Larry saw Bridget working at the Living Green Expo and was immediately smitten. “She was beautiful and striking, just gorgeous,” says Larry. But Larry, being “Match-ed out,” wasn’t interested in dating at that time. It took him two months to find and contact her on Match.com. “I didn’t remember our previous communication,” he says. But Bridget did.
“I just knew I had talked to him before,” she says. “There was something about him, and his e-mail was very thoughtful and well-written.” She found Larry’s earlier rejection and wrote him a kind yet witty reply that included his earlier refusal.
“I was impressed she was clever yet straightforward,” says Larry. “So I wrote back, ‘I’ve come a long way. Give me a chance.’ ” So she did.
Together at last
Their first date was July 5th at a Mill City Live event in Minneapolis. “I remember the moment when I first saw her,” says Larry. A dinner date followed and the two became inseparable. “I felt I knew almost immediately that this is the right person,” says Larry.
They were engaged by January, in a spur-of-the-moment, ringless proposal by Larry after a beautiful evening in Minneapolis. “It really shows how important timing and preparing is,” says Bridget. “Honestly, if we had dated earlier, I don’t think it would have worked out.”
The giveaway
Bridget learned about the D’Amico Dream Wedding contest from a co-worker. The winning package had everything they wanted: a September wedding in Minneapolis, a reception for 150 people, great food, quality vendors—with all expenses paid.
The contest was the brainchild of D’Amico, a local caterer and restaurant, borrowing from the Today Show’s wedding contests. D’Amico event coordinator Robin Sanborn and her team wanted to reintroduce the newly renovated Calhoun Beach Club to the event market. They partnered with Minnesota Bride and more than 20 top-notch vendors to give one couple the wedding of their dreams.
Bridget and Larry were among eight finalists out of the 150 couples who entered. Sanborn says they were looking for a committed local couple with a unique story. “All the finalists had lovely stories, but Bridget and Larry’s story about Match.com and the rejection was just so romantic.”
The dream becomes reality
Bridget wanted her colors to convey a sense of late summer and early autumn, highlighting greens, browns and persimmon. Beautiful invitations were a priority, and Mi Mi Design of Minneapolis put together an elegant yet modern square pocket invite in keeping with the wedding’s palette.
For her attire, Bridget initially wanted a tea-length gown with some kind of sleeve; but when the experts at Monique Lhuillier put her in “Kyla,” a strapless, full-length ivory silk-satin organza gown, she quickly changed her mind. She accented her dress with two separate veils: a chapel-length cascade-cut veil and a two-tier elbow-length veil with a blusher.
Bridget’s two attendants—the maid of honor and a bridesmaid—wore tea-length, deep-green dresses with pecan-hued sashes, courtesy of Flutter Boutique. Their bouquets bloomed with a late-summer, warm-toned mix of dahlias, orchids, calla lilies and roses, designed by Bastian+Skoog in Minneapolis.
The celebration begins
The bridal party’s day began with hair, makeup and spa treatments at Fivetwosix Salon Spa Gallery in St. Paul, followed by lunch at Lucia’s in Minneapolis. Wedding coordinator Joan Nilson of Ambiente made sure every detail from sun-up to sun-down went smoothly. The bride and groom finally met at 2 p.m. at the Calhoun Beach Club where they would be married.
“I had nerves and anxiety while putting on the dress,” says Bridget. “But when I saw Larry for the photos, it was released. That was really very affirming—this person that has this magical calming effect on you and [radiates] a sense of security.”
The ceremony took place at 5 p.m. in the club’s Boulevard Room, featuring vows the couple had written and a unity ritual designed by Bridget and Larry. Both families brought soil from their homes to combine; Bridget and Larry plan to use the mixture as a foundation for plantings in their backyard.
The reception décor flowed in concert with the invitations, using square tables configured for eight or 12 people. The experts at Bungalow 6 Design used layered linens of brown, persimmon, orange and ivory on the tables and accented other furniture with pillows in fall colors. Centering the tables were matte square and rectangular ceramic containers filled with hydrangeas, magnolias, orchids, dahlias, roses, mums and seeded eucalyptus.
The wedding menu was a collection of D’Amico classics: roasted sea bass, gnocchi or short ribs of beef, and banana wedding cake with chocolate ganache, caramel mousse, and a buttercream exterior. Late-night partygoers were treated to a snack buffet, including Café Lurcat’s famous mini burgers with red-wine shallot butter. Laurent Perrier Champagne provided the cocktail-hour bubbly.
Dancing capped off the evening, with a Bellagala DJ and a local cover band, hired independently by Bridget and Larry.
A fairy tale begins
The couple took a minimoon to Two Harbors after the celebration and will take their official honeymoon, courtesy of Advantage Travel, to Secret Resorts in the Riviera Maya in January. They have made their home in South Minneapolis.
For Bridget and Larry, the celebration was a perfect ending—and beginning—to their unlikely romance. Larry’s special moment? Before Bridget arrived to walk down the aisle, he says, “I was standing up at the altar, and I realized what I was doing. After all this time, I’ve found the right person and I’m starting my life with her.”
D’Amico Dream Wedding partners
Location: Calhoun Beach Club
Reception catering: D’Amico Catering
Rehearsal dinner: D’Amico Cucina
Wedding designer: Bungalow 6 Design
Wedding planning: Ambiente Wedding & Event Planning
Photography: Noah Wolf Photography
Videographer: Princess Bride Cinematic Videography
Bridal gown: Monique Lhuillier
Tuxedos: Brides of France
Wedding bands: Continental Diamond
Invitations: Mi Mi Design
Flowers: Bastian+Skoog Urban Flower Studio
Photo booth: Snapz Photo Booth
Hair and makeup: Fivetwosix Salon Spa Gallery
Dance lessons: Atlas Ballroom & Latin Dance
Limousine: Renee’s Royal Valet
Valet: First Class Valet Company
Car service: ReliaDrive
Reception & ceremony music: Bellagala
Bridesmaid gowns: Flutter Boutique
Lighting: Creative Concepts & Special Events
Table linens: Studio 6 Specialty Linen & Decor
Groomsmen gifts: Martin Patrick 3
Bridal party / guest gifts: Thymes, Ltd.
Honeymoon: Advantage Travel
Champagne: Laurent Perrier Champagne
Wedding album: Celine Countryman
Media sponsors: Minnesota Bride and METRO