When Max and Christopher met in college, they had no idea they’d walk down the aisle five years later.
“He was just instantly engaging,” says Max of his new husband, Christopher. “What I didn’t know is that we’d ever get engaged,” he says. Max and Christopher met at the University of South Florida in October of 2009. Max was studying finance and Christopher was undecided. Christopher was at The Local Draught House with friends. “I saw Max walk in and knew I had to talk to him,” says Christopher. He’d been told by his friend, Megan, that a guy was coming she wanted him to meet. “I didn’t know this was the guy, but you can’t imagine how excited I was when I found out it was him.”
Max’s affinity wasn’t mutual right away. “I had just gotten out of a long relationship. It started in high school and had ended really badly. I wasn’t ready to start dating again,” he says. Max made that abundantly clear to Christopher, who wouldn’t be deterred. He asked Max to go with him to a friend’s Halloween party the next weekend. “I didn’t want to,” says Max. “But I thought Chris was nice, so I went along with it.”
After the party, Christopher walked Max to his car. “I knew what was going to happen,” says Max. “We had so much fun at the party; it was inevitable. But I wanted it to be on my terms, which was basically the opposite of my previous relationship.”
As Christopher leaned in to kiss Max, Max kissed him first. “I was obsessed with Max; I’m not ashamed to admit,” says Christopher. “But in that moment, the obsession just melted away into something more. It was so comfortable.”
The pair has traveled all over the world together – travel is one of their greatest passions and they try to see a new place whenever they can. “We had talked about getting married as soon as the SCOTUS ruling came down,” says Christopher. Like the rest of their relationship, Christopher was the one to make the first comments about getting engaged. Again, Max wanted it to be on his terms. “It was a no-brainer that I’d pop the question while we were on vacation,” says Max. He shopped for a ring and took it with him on a weekend in Mexico.
The two stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, just 45 minutes south of Cancun. “The adults-only section of the hotel is called ‘Heaven,’” says Max. “I wanted to tie that in somehow.” One night, the couple had just finished dinner and Max brought Christopher to the middle of the lobby. Max told Christopher that being with him was just like heaven. There were some other guests in the hotel lobby, and when Christopher said yes, everyone cheered.
Wedding planning was fairly simple, as they chose to get married at the all-inclusive Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie. “We just picked out what we wanted, paid the bill and showed up,” says Max. Neither of the men were interested in a big wedding, so together with about 25 friends, they stood on the beach and said “I do” on November 1, 2014.
“It was the most incredible thing to have our closest friends and family surrounding us in that moment,” says Christopher.
ENGAGEMENT DATE: April 21, 2014
WEDDING DATE: November 1, 2014
VENUE: Club Med Sandpiper Bay, Port St. Lucie, FL
FLOWERS: Red and white roses
COLORS: Red and white
ATTIRE VENDORS: Men’s Wearhouse
CAKE BAKERY: Publix
CAKE FLAVORS: Vanilla cake with strawberry filling
PHOTOGRAPHER: Max’s sister, Victoria Freestone
