Date: March 19
Her story: Maura Elizabeth Dieringer, 28, was born in Ellicott City. She works as a sales manager for her family's company, Douglas Homes. Her parents, Mary and Douglas Dieringer, live in Ellicott City.
His story: David Thomas Saul, 36, was born in Baltimore. He works as an insurance broker for Alliant Insurance Services. His parents, David and Nancy Saul, live in Baldwin.
Their story: They met on Feb. 9, 2014, while eating lunch at Gordon Biersch in Harbor East.
"I sat down next to him at the bar and we started talking," Maura recalled. "It turned out our dads graduated from Cardinal Gibbons together and our sisters used to work together. Small world."
During the lunch, Maura looked at her friend and said, "I hope he asks for my number."
He did. And they went on their first date the next week at La Scala in Little Italy.
The couple live in Ellicott City.
The proposal: Maura said she had no idea that Dave was thinking of proposing leading up to the memorable day, on July 28, 2015.
"We lived together at the time but had only known each other a little over a year," Maura said. "I was going to Massachusetts for a friend's bachelorette [party], and after dropping me at the airport, Dave went and met his sister at Tiffany & Co. to look at rings."
Maura and Dave were also house hunting at the time — they had made an offer on a house and were going back and forth with the seller.
"Dave felt confident we would get the house, so the next morning when I was sitting in bed drinking coffee, he came in in his suit for work and said, 'I know we are going to get the house, so the only thing left to do is ask you to marry me. Will you marry me?'" Maura recalled. "I was so shocked that my first response was 'I haven't even brushed my teeth yet.'"
The couple's offer on the house was accepted later that day.
Venue: One hundred and sixty guests attended the ceremony at the Baltimore Basilica and the reception at the George Peabody Library.
Flowers and decor: The colors were gold, ivory and off-white. Flowers — provided by 41st Flower Design Studio — were in white tones with touches of crimson, as well as amnesia roses.
Bride's attire: Maura wore a Sareh Nouri strapless trumpet gazar gown that had a two-tiered chapel train with horsehair details. She got the dress at Betsy Robinson's Bridal Collection. Her earrings were from BHLDN; a jewelry designer changed out some stones for custom ones. Her bracelet was her great-aunt's, serving as her "something old." Maura also wore a diamond necklace she borrowed from a friend.
Bridesmaids' attire: Bridesmaids wore black dresses from Amsale, purchased from Bella Bridesmaids in Fells Point. The women wore earrings by Danielle Nicole and carried custom clutches with their initials on them, also by Danielle Nicole.
Men's attire: Dave and his groomsmen wore Calvin Klein tuxedos from Men's Wearhouse. Dave wore a black tie while the groomsmen wore black bow ties. They also wore corsages that were wrapped in pieces of a tie that belonged to Maura's late brother, Patrick. The back of Maura's bouquet also had a piece of Patrick's tie on it.
Music: The Sage Jazz group provided music for the cocktail hour. Chris Temple from C&J Entertainment Agency provided the music for the reception. The couple's first song was the acoustic version of "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay.
Food and dessert: Charles Levine Caterers catered the wedding. Instead of a salad course, the couple served tapas, including seared ahi tuna and shrimp. For the main course, guests chose between braised short ribs and swordfish.
Favors: The couple made donations to the Baltimore Catholic League, a basketball association of parochial schools in Baltimore, in honor of Maura's late brother, Patrick, whose greatest passion was basketball. They also made donations to the SPCA in honor of Dave's family dog, Molly.
The couple also put custom temporary tattoos made by Anna Bee Jewelry on each table as a favor for the guests.
Special touches: The couple went to Turks and Caicos for their honeymoon.
