SHAY + ZEKE STEP INTO THE LIMELIGHT | THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM | TAMPA, FL

Tinder for the win! Don’t you just love modern day dating?
Shay was living is Dayton Ohio when Zeke and his friend (and Best Man) Andreas were visiting a friend at the end of a month long trip to the US in May of 2016. Shay then saw Zeke on Tinder and thought it was really cool that he was Swedish. They hung out for a week before Zeke went back to Sweden. They did keep in touch and their relationship grow stronger from there.

Zeke proposed to Shay in front of a frozen waterfall in Northern Sweden about 6 miles from the border of Norway. They were up north visiting Zeke’s mom and a family friend for Christmas time and they drove out to Ristafallet waterfall the day after Christmas and walked down a hill through about a foot of snow to a frozen waterfall. That is where Zeke got down on one knee (on the ice!) to ask Shay to marry him! How ever so romantic!

Shay loves his heart. “Zeke is the most kind and generous man that I know and he has such a big heart. I was very guarded when we met but he made it easy for me to fall in love with him”.

Zeke… “I love her because she makes me a better person everyday and her kindness and love fills me with peace and strength to meet the world with”.

They both love to travel! They have been on many trips together to different countries and some US states and we have many more planned! They also like to play some video games together. They really love taking their dogs for walks out in nature and they enjoy cooking together.

Zeke & Shay had their legal wedding in Sweden at Stockholm City Hall this past October 2018. They wanted to have a small wedding in Sweden and a reception for Zeke's friends and his extended family. Their wedding in Florida is a continuation of their wedding celebration. They were fortunate to have Zeke's close friends and immediate family in Florida with them and were able to celebrate together. Shay… “Since I was a girl, I dreamed of walking down the aisle and even though we are already legally married, I am still so excited for that moment when I walk towards him. This wedding is honestly my dream wedding and we are so fortunate that we could have two completely different but beautiful weddings”.

The wedding colors were Teal, Navy, and Gold so the bridesmaids were in teal mermaid cut dresses and the groomsmen and the man of honor were in tuxes with teal vests and bow-ties. Our flower girls were in teal and ivory dresses and the ring bearers had the same teal bow-ties as the men. There were splashes of all 3 colors throughout the room. Shay’s wedding shoes were teal with ivory starfish on the front and look very “mermaidy". The wedding cake also had an ocean theme. Shay… “Since I was little, I have wanted to be a mermaid. I have always loved the Ocean and I grew up going to the Florida Aquarium. When Zeke came to Florida in October 2017 to meet my parents, I took him to the Florida Aquarium. When we decided we were getting married, we talked about locations and we agreed that if we were to have a wedding in Florida, we would definitely want it at the Florida Aquarium”.

The ceremony was something special to witness, Shay made sure to incorporate many beautiful jewish traditions and blessings were spoken in English, Hebrew and Swedish. We felt every guest was included and each moment was meticulously thought out, making it such a memorable to unique part of the day.

The reception was truly a celebration, the dancing, the toasts and speeches and the surprises! We could feel the love being poured out from family and friends to Zeke & Shay. Shay’s mom Debrah along with some special guests, surprised the bride and groom with a dance, Ya’ll how fun is that? They called it “The Pickled Herrings”. They all danced the night away and beautiful memories were made.

We could not be happier for this sweet couple! They made our hearts smile with their love for each other and everyone around them. We LOVED being a part of their special day and cannot wait to see what the future holds for them all over the world. Njut av livet! ❤