Marmaros Productions
- Aug 25, 2021
- 9 min read

Kayla & Robert

6.12.2021 | The Butterfly Pavilion

How We Met

When Kayla and Robert got engaged, they were excited to start wedding planning. One of the biggest decisions of a wedding is picking your venue. Unlike other couples, Kayla and Robert only toured one venue and they were SOLD. Once they had their date at The Butterfly Pavilion, they heard about us from Robin, the venue owner. After they reached out to us and had a discovery call, we had a wedding on the calendar for June 2021!

Love Story

We love hearing our couple's love story and how they fell together. Kayla & Robert's story almost ended after the first date if it hadn't been for one text that gave them a second chance! Read about how they met and got engaged!

"Rob and Kayla first met on Hinge, an online dating website. Kayla liked Rob first. Something about a goofy, impressive billiards shot on his profile. And when Rob saw Kayla in a Giants shirt he knew they had to meet. The two spoke for a couple of days before Rob reached out about meeting up for dinner. They chose the next Sunday at Grub Burger Bar (which is still the only restaurant Rob will admit competes with his Dad's burgers). Rob showed up in jeans and a blazer while Kayla rolled in late in Nike shorts and a ratty old t-shirt. It was off to a great start! The two ordered burgers and sat down. The conversation flowed easily. They chatted about work, school, friends, and living in Atlanta. The topic of movies came up and Rob mentioned his love for Star Wars. The next two hours were filled with Rob expressing his love for Star Wars and Kayla trying the best she could to chime in. And at this point the restaurant was closing. Rob was still talking about Star Wars and Kayla was ready to go. Rob walked Kayla to her car and they left to go their separate ways. As Kayla arrived home, she texted Rob she was home safe, as promised. He replied with a simple text. "Great. That date didn't go well did it?" And little did they know, but that text was the start of their amazing second date and the beginning of forever.

For Valentine's Day, Rob took Kayla to Chicago's which is a steakhouse that his family loves. The food was so good, Rob wanted to come back the next Friday to enjoy another meal. Kayla was hesitant as the food was not priced for their typical date night out but Rob insisted he wanted to treat her. Kayla agreed so Rob made the reservations for 6:15pm. Immediately, Kayla began to stress. She normally got home from work around 6pm and the restaurant was 45 minutes away. There was no way that they were going to make that time. But Rob insisted that it would be okay and it would all work out. On Friday, Kayla was sitting at her desk when she received an email from her boss telling her to go home early. She was in shock! The entire team was given permission to go home and enjoy the beautiful weather but all Kayla could think about was that they would make it in time for their reservation. She sent a quick text to Rob to let him know that she was headed home and he should head over so they could leave on time. Kayla finished up work at home and began getting ready. However, the outfit she wanted didn't look right. She tried something else. No good. A third outfit. It just didn't look right. She decided to work on her makeup and maybe her look would help her to decide on an outfit. The makeup didn't turn out right either but at that point, it was time to leave so she threw on her little black dress and headed out the door. It would have to work. Rob drove to the restaurant yelling at cars the whole way for being too slow or not getting out of his way. Kayla was constantly trying to calm him down and figure out what was wrong. They arrived just in time for their reservation and were seated in a booth. Rob sat down for a second before excusing himself to the bathroom (where he met his sister who was waiting with his razor). Kayla began looking over the same menu she studied just one week ago and quickly decided that she wanted to try something new. Once Rob returned (clean-shaven and without Kayla even noticing the difference) he began looking at the menu too. They each placed their order and then Rob started acting funny. Suddenly, he could not find words. He was quiet. Kayla was curious about what was wrong. They exchanged silly looks back and forth before Kayla let out an "uggghh". "What's wrong?" Rob asks. "Today is just blaaahh." Kayla replied. "Oh. I don't think today is blah. Actually, I think today will end up being a great day." "Why's that" Kayla asked. "I don't know. I just have a feeling." Rob began to smile before continuing on about their love. Then he got out of the booth and asked Kayla to stand up. In that moment, she knew exactly what was going on. Rob got down on one knee and asked that one question she had longed to hear leave his lips. "Kayla Denice Queen, will you marry me?" Kayla was so caught up in the moment no words could escape her mouth but instead she nodded vigorously "YESS!". And with that Rob slipped the ring over her finger and the restaurant cheered. Moments later, Sarah, Rob's oldest sister, popped into the booth in full disguise. She had caught the whole thing on video and even got some pictures! Later on in the meal, a couple in the restaurant who were moved by the proposal bought the newly engaged pair some champagne to toast with. And the best part was that it wasn't over yet. Rob had an engagement party waiting for them with their immediate family at his parent's house just as Kayla had dreamed. The night was perfect and it seemed surreal. Rob had swept Kayla off her feet and they were so excited to begin forever with the perfect moment."

Down to Business

Since we were in the height of the pandemic when Kayla and Robert booked with us, our first meeting was a virtual get to know each other. We just talked about all things wedding, wedding ideas, and learned a little about one another. We kept up with planning virtually through 2020 since that was what we could do with the state the world was in at the time. By December 2020 we were excited to finally be able to meet one another in person! Every meeting was so productive and Kayla had everything organized! Once we were closer to the wedding day, Mallory did a walkthrough of the venue and chatted with Robin to ensure she had all the information she needed in order to have a fantastic wedding! Before we knew it, June 11th was here and we were rehearsing for the big day. Since it had rained all day on the 11th, we held rehearsal in the reception space as opposed to the meadow, but that didn’t bother Kayla and Robert one bit. We left rehearsal with lots of prayers that we would have a beautiful (and sunny) wedding the following day!

The Big Day

When we arrived to The Butterfly Pavilion on Saturday we were excited to see that the weather for the day looked like it was going to be a little overcast, but most importantly - DRY! We moved forward with the original plans of having the ceremony down in the meadow and started to set up that area. Before anyone began arriving, we worked on unpacking the boxes that Kayla and Robert had brought and started to place all of the reception decor in its respective spots. Kayla and her girls had their hair and makeup done off site at Blo Blow Dry Bar so when they arrived at the venue they were already beautified and ready to munch on some nuggets for lunch! Later in the day, we greeted their DJ, The TC Show, and their caterer, Carriage House Catering, and showed them where to set up. Their florist, Carithers Flowers arrived with absolutely stunning bouquets for the girls and then headed down to the ceremony space to work on the arbor. The photographer, Christine Quarte Photography, and the videographer, Kelly Rose Productions, arrived at the venue and started to get a few detail shots. The guys arrived at the venue and hung out for a bit in the groom's suite, but let us tell you - every time we walked by that door we couldn’t help but dance to the music they were playing! We could tell they were having a great time together even though they were sitting around waiting for the day to start!

After the girls had gotten into their dresses, Kayla did a first look with her dad. We love this newer tradition because it creates such an intimate and special memory that both the bride and their dad will remember for the rest of their lives! Christine took the guys and the girls to do their photos separately - partially because we wanted to make sure everyone was getting enough a/c and staying hydrated, but also because Kayla and Robert decided not to do a first look. Instead of a first look, they decided on doing a first touch. This allowed them to have a moment together before the ceremony without spoiling the big reveal of seeing each other for the first time that day.

Guests had arrived and it was finally time to start the ceremony! We sent the family and the bridal party down the aisle, but kept Kayla and her dad in the bridal suite to ensure that Robert had no chance of sneaking a peek of her prior to when she was coming down the aisle. Keeping Kayla hidden until the last moment was worth it once we saw the look on Robert’s face - we could tell how excited he was to have his bride meet him at the altar and to say I Do’s! You never would have known that we were worried about rain at the start of the day, because by the time of the ceremony the meadow was absolutely gorgeous. After the ceremony, we sent the guests to a cocktail hour at Butterfly Pavilion’s starlight dance floor while Kayla and Robert took photos with their family and their bridal party. Carriage House Catering passed hor d'oeuvres while Kayla and Robert were taking photos as a couple and boy did the guests love the pimento cheese empanadas and mini chicken and waffles!

Once we were ready to kick off the reception, Kaya and Robert were introduced as the newly wed Mr. and Mrs. Roper and then went straight into their first dance. After their first dance, they danced with their parents. Kayla and her dad had a fun surprise for the guests and broke out of the traditional dancing with some fun dances such as “Gangnam Style”. The guests were welcomed to the reception and the food was blessed before the mac and cheese buffet was open. You heard that right! Kayla and Robert had a buffet of a variety of mac and cheeses along with other yummy foods such as a Charleston crab dip! As dinner wrapped up, Kayla and Robert cut their cake from Confection Perfection and tasted a few of the other desserts before sitting back down for toasts. After toasts, we were ready to open up the dance floor for the night! All of the guests had a great time dancing the night away and we think Robert has a shot at being a winner of So You Think You Can Dance with his dance moves!! Before the night wrapped up, Kayla and Robert tossed the bouquet and garter and then enjoyed a last dance (just the two of them) while the guests lined up for send off. We lit the sparklers and the guests cheered on the new Mr. and Mrs. as they got in their getaway car provided by Atlantic Limo.

Something Spectacular

We love when couples add personal touches to their wedding day. Something so special and sentimental on Kayla and Robert’s wedding day was the wrap Kayla had on her bouquet. Most of the time a bouquet wrap is just ribbon and fabric that the florist provides, but Kayla thought through a way to make hers a bit more personal. She included items from her mother and her grandmother on her bouquet wrap. The fabric was from her mom’s wedding dress. It was topped with lace from her grandmother’s gloves that she wore on her wedding day, and held together with a heart pin that she found from her grandmother’s jewelry after her grandmother had passed away. This was such a sentimental way to make sure the women who are so important to her were near and dear to her on her wedding day even though not all of them could be there.

Happily Ever After

Kayla and Robert’s wedding was so much fun! It was hard to pull them off the dance floor to go on their honeymoon and we just know their marriage is going to be full of blissful moments (and lots of dancing). We are so happy for the new Mr. and Mrs. Roper and wish them every bit of happiness as they enter this new stage of their lives!