Wedding: Charlie and Megan Kirby

When Megan first met Charlie, she thought he was kind of a jerk.

She was with her friend Meagan, a coincidence Charlie found hilarious. He wouldn’t stop saying their name, but neither girl knew whom he was talking to. One of the last things he said was, “I am going to marry Megan one day.”

“Of course, we still had no idea which one he was talking to,” Megan says.

The two continued to run into each other around the Vanderbilt University campus and Charlie eventually asked Megan to hang out. The two began dating and continued their relationship even after Charlie graduated and moved to Michigan. Fortunately for the couple, both landed jobs in Washington D.C. after Megan graduated a year later.

When Charlie decided to propose, he knew Megan had only one request: make it a surprise. He decided to ask her in Bermuda while the two were on a retreat with Megan’s work colleagues because Charlie says he knew she would not see that coming.

On their last day in Bermuda, Charlie asked Megan if she’d like to go for a walk. Of course, she said no. After 30 minutes of convincing, they were finally on their way. Charlie hoped to find a secluded area, but he couldn’t find anything on the beach. Their walk turned into a three-mile hike. Exhausted, Charlie said they should take a break. After Megan sat down, Charlie decided this was the place. Megan was shocked, but as Charlie says, “Thankfully, in a good way.”

Charlie, the son of Bill and Pam Kirby of Wilmette and a graduate of New Trier High School, married Megan, daughter of Ed and Carol Dinan of Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 11, 2014. The ceremony was held at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston.

The couple made sure to include personal touches throughout their wedding and reception. Megan wore the blue gemstone earrings and veil that her sister wore on her wedding day, and her great-grandmother’s engagement ring was tied to her bouquet. During their sand ceremony, the couple used stones and beach glass from Megan’s family lake house and sand from Charlie’s family beach house.

At the reception, instead of using table numbers, the couple assigned one of their own family traditions to each table. They also decorated with photos of their parents’ and grandparents’ weddings in antique frames made with the windowpanes of Megan’s grandmother’s house. The groom’s cake was a replication of Charlie’s fraternity house, where the couple met. Lastly, Megan and Charlie gave out ornaments as their wedding favor because one of their own traditions is collecting ornaments from every place they visit.

Charlie and Megan’s wedding day was filled with celebration. The dance floor was packed and their family and friends gave speeches that made the couple both laugh and cry. Megan says it was the best day ever.

“It may sound cheesy, but it was truly magical to be surrounded by all of the people we hold so close in our hearts in one room,” Megan says.