(Photos by Rachel Joan Photography)
When Kristina White-Satmary saw their future wife for the first time four years ago, they knew immediately that they had to talk to her.
A longtime hospitality worker – as well as drag performer and Come OUT St. Pete ambassador – they were bartending at Bar@548 when they spotted Alex Satmary across the room. They walked right over and sat down next to her.
“I saw her and thought, ‘That’s her. I’ve been looking for her. I have to sit next to her. I have to talk to her,’” White-Satmary says. “She wouldn’t talk to me, though.”
“I’m a chicken when it comes to that kind of thing,” Satmary explains. “She just sat down right next to me and I didn’t know what to do.”
Eventually the two got to talking and Satmary opened up a bit. They exchanged phone numbers and met up for a sushi lunch date. After a bottle of sake, the date kept going and they stayed out until about 2 a.m.
There was a “really intense chemistry and attraction from the beginning,” Satmary adds.
They talked about spending their lives together and one day getting married fairly early in the relationship.
‘We said, ‘I love you’ pretty soon, too,” she says. “But we didn’t want to do the typical U-haul lesbian thing.”
They let their relationship grow organically and by Sept. 2020, Satmary knew she was ready to propose. But she didn’t want it to be a typical proposal.
So, she organized a scavenger hunt. She provided White-Satmary with clues to various locations – where they went on their first date, where they first said “I love you” – and sent her on a journey across downtown St. Petersburg. And at the end, she would be waiting to propose.
At each stop, one of their close friends was waiting with the next clue.
“And each person had a shot waiting for me, but they didn’t tell Alex,” White Satmary says.
By the time they got to the final spot – the Salvador Dali Museum – they were “hammered,” much to Satmary’s surprise.
They began planning their wedding immediately, eventually booking the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg and were excited to bring their friends and family together.
What their loved ones didn’t know was that they had actually been married for a year by the time of their Oct. 16, 2021 wedding.
When conservative Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as the newest member of the Supreme Court on Oct. 27, 2020, the couple began to get nervous that this would eventually lead to same-sex marriage rights being taken away.
Days later – on Oct. 31, 2020 – they decided to get married at the courthouse just in case.
They kept their plans for a big wedding with family and friends, though. As they planned the event, they had two concerns: they wanted to support local, and they wanted it to be as sustainable as possible.
The couple recognized that weddings can be “super wasteful,” White-Satmary says. So, they used recycled and repurposed items and sustainable materials wherever they could. They even hired two local bearded drag queens, Adriana Sparkles and Aquarius, to perform.
And though the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t ruin their wedding plans, it still made for a difficult year as they organized their big day.
“They say your first year of marriage is the hardest. It was crazy hard,” White-Satmary says. “But we got closer because of it. It was a crazy time. And it was great to finally get people together at our wedding.”
Engagement Date: Sept. 13, 2020
Marriage Date: Oct. 31, 2021
Marriage Venue: St. Petersburg courthouse
Wedding Date: Oct. 16, 2021
Wedding Venue: Sunken Gardens (ceremony)
First dance: “Say a Little Prayer” by Lianne La Havas
Wedding Theme/Colors: Eucalyptus/Pompous Grass, earthy
Florist: Artistic Flowers
Cake Bakery: A Piece of Cake & Desserts
Photographer: Rachel Joan Photography
Videographer: Jamie Murphy
Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.
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