A Rosemary Beach Romance

Madison and Stephen Cole met in Nashville in 2020 amidst the pandemic. Over the span of four years, they travelled the world and fell more deeply in love, marrying in May of 2024. We detail this intimate and timeless wedding that epitomized the classic beauty of Rosemary Beach.

“Stephen and I have been together for four years. We met in July of 2020 when we discovered each other as neighbors. At the time we were living in these townhome style houses that were three-stories tall with an exposed rooftop. There were four units total on our little street called “Greystone” and we all shared a driveway. Myself and three roommates occupied the back unit on the left and with a short few steps to the back unit on the right side, that is where Stephen was living at the time. It wasn’t long before we started seeing each other coming and going from the house, running errands, having friends in town, etc. It was nearing the end of summer, so there were lots of warm summer nights spent on the rooftop. It was also still in the middle of Covid times, so as you can imagine, a lot of “at home entertainment” was taking place. We would play games, listen to music, and just be fully immersed in the moment. It felt like the world was on pause, but there we were creating our own special memories that would last a lifetime. It wasn’t before long that Stephen and I were introduced and then quickly spent day after day together. It was pretty apparent from the beginning that we both felt this would be different. That this was something special.”

“Summer turned to fall and fall to winter and before we knew it we were spending our first Christmas together and making plans for the future. We were fully committed to each other and excited to see how our relationship would grow. In this stretch of time we had our first vacation together to Cabo, Mexico. I think we would mutually agree this is when we really fell in love with each other. We truly had the best time laughing, singing, dancing, swimming, jet skiing, fishing, talking, and just getting to know each other on such a deeper level. I feel like we both let our inner child come out on this trip and I think we both realized that we wanted this to be a common theme in thinking about our future. Someone you could be yourself with, plan with, dream with, travel with, cry with, do nothing with. He is that person for me, through and through.”

“From living in our first high rise apartment together downtown Nashville and walking to dinners / hitting the town, to skiing in Aspen and Telluride Colorado, to spending Thanksgiving in Hilton Head South Carolina, lake days in northern Michigan, visiting family in West Virginia, and making memories with family in Tennessee,  we realized it wasn’t about where we were or what we were doing. We truly just enjoyed being with each other so much. We never wanted it to end.”

“We got engaged on November 20th, 2021 in Bluffton, South Carolina. It was a complete surprise and I was shocked he pulled it off. I was pretty certain I would know when it was happening, and I really had no clue. It was perfect in every way. We now live in our Nashville home with not one but two Bernese Mountain Dog pups. Lucy is 2 years old and was a Christmas gift surprise from Stephen to me (best surprise ever) and Levi is just under a year old boy. If we’re not traveling, working, or spending quality time with family/friends, you can usually find us at home on the couch hanging with the pups. We love spending intentional quality time together. I usually cook or we’ll order in. We do enjoy the occasional nice dinner either on a date or with friends. We also love going to sporting events and concerts in our lively fun town! There is always something to do. If you catch us at the right time, you may even convince us to go out and have a night on Broadway (but these are far and few between). We love good food, taking the dogs on walks, traveling, reading, exercising, football, golf, and spending time with friends and family.”

“We got married on May 18, 2024 in Rosemary Beach, FL and it was truly everything we prayed for in a wedding. Marriage has been our favorite journey to date so far, and we can’t wait for more of this beautiful chapter to unfold. I would describe our day as intimate and traditional with a modern touch. I’m so glad that we were really present in every moment. Despite any unexpected hiccups that may have occurred, we really made an effort to stand by each other and support each other through the whole weekend. There are so many moving parts when it comes to making a whole weekend of events with so many people involved. I swear being a bride should be an Olympic sport! Accepting help from others and being willing to pivot where needed in order to stay present and just enjoy the weekend was key for us. Every time we felt stressed or emotional, we just turned to each other. We couldn’t have done it without the support of each other and family/friends around us. Another tip – we didn’t leave the dance floor all night! Highly recommended. It goes by way too fast.” 

“We had some weather challenges that were very unexpected. All of the wedding events we planned on Friday and Saturday were outdoors. The area that we got married typically isn’t known for a lot of rain in May. But of course, out of the two days of the whole week – Mother Nature decided to throw some thunderstorms on the radar. Friday was a complete rainout. We were supposed to have our Welcome Party on the beach (we had booked a bonfire, catering, string lights, drinks, the whole nine). We ended up having to last minute move the event indoors at the beach cottage we had rented out for the weekend. Luckily, it was a pretty big house. However, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a wee bit cramped. Well, we’ll call it “intimate.” As frustrating and stressful as that was in the moment, looking back there were some really funny and cute memories that came from it. We even had guests tell us that they enjoyed it being at the cottage more. We were completely unprepared to host 90+ people at the cottage that night, so we didn’t have proper drinking cups or anything. Luckily, the catering was still able to be set up in the cottage and everyone gathered together to help transfer the drinks, decor, and goodies. Looking back at the photos was hilarious. There were guests drinking wine out of mugs, taking shots out of water glasses; I even had someone tell me that a guest made a pitcher of margaritas in a flower vase. Yes, you heard that right. We danced barefoot in the kitchen and living room, listened to music, people gave toasts that brought us to tears; it was things like these that made the night so special and one that we could not have drawn up even if we tried. Tip – you could be the best planner, most organized, creative, badass bride in the world, but there will still be things that are out of your control. Roll with it. Be present. Embrace it.”

“It also stormed our entire wedding morning while we were getting ready. Something about it was so cozy and relaxing. At that point we had let go of the outcome and just decided to embrace the moment. I had a weird sense of calmness after spending Friday night praying about it. Sure enough, the skies parted just in time for ceremony/reception prep and the plans for the day/night were ON. Someone was definitely watching over us that day. To be honest, it just made the day that much more special seeing the storm clear and watching our vision come to life as we had spent countless days, weeks, and months putting together.”

When we look back on the weekend, we’re just so dang grateful. For all of the people that came together to make it happen, that celebrated us, and made us feel so loved and supported all weekend. It’s a pretty crazy feeling when all of your closest friends and family get together in one place to be there for you and your partner. There were a variety of friend groups and family members that hadn’t met each other yet, and hearing stories from them on who they spent time with and bonded with throughout the weekend made our hearts so happy. Just seeing everyone come together, everyone that helped shape both of us – it was the coolest thing to watch. Not to mention our vendors fought to make our dreams come true despite the weather challenges! Everyone worked together to make our vision happen regardless of the road blocks that temporarily got in our way. All of our vendors were 10/10 and I would recommend them to anyone time and time again. Most of them had also worked together before, so they really flowed together throughout the day as well. They paid such close attention to detail that truly the vendors were least of my stress throughout the whole process. They executed everything perfectly. We couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out and we wouldn’t change a thing. There is no detail we won’t remember.”

“For couples, enjoy every moment from the time you get engaged to the end of your honeymoon. When people say it goes by fast, it truly does in the blink of an eye. Don’t let the little stressful things bring you down. Stay true to your vision and fight for it, no matter who tries to challenge it. Set boundaries and take care of yourself during this process. It can be a lot mentally and emotionally, so make sure you’re still taking the time to do things that make you feel good whether that is exercising, journaling, meditating, you name it. Control the things you can, but let go of the things that you can’t. There are going to be things (like the weather) and other variables out of your control, just flow with it. The more you fight it, the more you’ll look back and regret spending time stressing about it. Do your best to let these things roll off. Just embrace everything.”

Photographer: Aubrey Oothout Photo

Venue: The Pearl Hotel