Today is a special day. We’re currently in Ohio, where we’re gathered with family to celebrate our niece Mya’s wedding. However, this day also marks another milestone: our 23rd wedding anniversary.
On June 8, 2002, we stood hand in hand under the morning Florida sky at Lake Eola Park, known for its iconic fountain and elegant swans. There was a horse-drawn carriage, a violinist, and a quiet kind of magic in the air. It was everything we hoped it would be… until the very end.
That’s when the rain came.
Not a gentle drizzle. Not a romantic mist. A full-on Florida summer downpour.
The minister quietly leaned in and told us he could see a storm approaching. He suggested we speed up the ceremony so our guests wouldn’t get caught in the downpour.
As soon as we said "I do," we quickly snapped a few outdoor photos while our guests made a run for the indoor reception, just a short walk away. We loaded the horse-drawn carriage with as many parents and grandparents as it could hold to make sure they arrived safely and dry. Everyone hurried off. It wasn’t the ending we had envisioned, but it was real, and in hindsight, kind of perfect.
Mark:
Before the rain ever hit our wedding day, there was another unexpected moment that still stands out—our rehearsal dinner the night before, and the events which led us to that restaurant.
I had made it very clear when we picked our wedding date, the day after my birthday, that I wasn’t giving up birthday celebrations. I was amplifying them. So on Renee’s birthday the previous July, just one day after I proposed, I made dinner reservations at Lee’s Lakeside on Lake Eola to celebrate her birthday and our engagement with ‘surf-n-turf’.
Upon our arrival, we were informed that a private party had booked the entire space. My heart sank for a moment… until they graciously offered to seat us at their other restaurant, The Yacht and Beach Club, just down the block.
At first, I was excited about the upgrade until I opened the menu and realized: No lobster.
I explained to our server that I had planned this meal for weeks and wanted to treat Renee to steak and lobster. Unbeknownst to me, the owner, Lee, had overheard. She came over, congratulated us, and said, “You’re getting lobster.”
I’ll never forget the feeling as other diners flipped through the menu, confused to see our plates arrive. That’s the power of someone going the extra mile to make a moment memorable.
Before we left, Lee reminded us that her Lakeside restaurant also hosted wedding receptions. We took the hint. A few months later, we were back at Lee’s sampling wedding cakes, because, of course, that’s where we celebrated our wedding.
Renee:
And the night before that celebration, we invited everyone to the rehearsal dinner at The Yacht and Beach Club.
It wasn’t just for the wedding party—our families, out-of-town guests, and friends all came together in one place. My mother-in-law and stepfather covered the dinner for our wedding party, but that evening was so much more than logistics. It was laughter echoing off the walls. It was hugs between family members who’d never met before. It was the beginning of something big—our two families becoming one.
Mark:
Looking back, that rehearsal dinner set the tone for everything that followed. It wasn’t just about food or formality; it was about Presence, Connection, and Celebration.
And maybe that’s what this whole journey has been about—choosing to find meaning in the messy and magic in the unplanned.
People love to say, “Rain on your wedding day is good luck.” At the time, it felt more like damage control than comfort. But 23 years later, we can say with certainty: they were right.
The rain didn’t ruin our wedding. It made it unforgettable. And it gave us our first lesson in marriage: You can plan every detail, but you can’t control the weather.
It’s become a recurring metaphor in life and business.
Renee:
As a July baby, I was used to rain disrupting birthday parties and outdoor celebrations. So when the sky darkened on our wedding day, I braced for disappointment. But something shifted that day. The rain didn’t take anything away—it added texture to the memory. It reminded me that joy doesn’t require perfect conditions.
It’s a lesson we’ve learned countless times—through launches that didn’t land, events that didn’t go as planned, and seasons in our business that felt more like storms than sunshine.
Mark:
In life and entrepreneurship, things will go sideways. Technology will fail. Clients will back out. JV Partners will fall short. Emotions will flare. And no matter how dialed in your systems are, something will eventually catch you off guard.
But resilience isn’t about avoiding the storm. It’s about learning how to stand together inside it.
Renee:
Over the past two decades, we’ve navigated quite a few of those moments: misunderstandings, pivots, parenting challenges, health scares, financial uncertainty…
And through it all, we’ve kept choosing each other. We’ve kept choosing the mission. We’ve kept choosing to move forward even when the skies weren’t clear.
And today, as we sit side by side at another family wedding, watching a new love story begin, we’re reminded of how sacred the messy, beautiful, imperfect journey really is.
Mark:
To those of you building businesses with a partner, or raising kids, or dreaming big—this is your reminder:
You don’t need perfect conditions to build something extraordinary. You just need courage, communication, and a commitment to keep going even when the rain rolls in.
Renee:
Here’s to the ones who show up soaked but still smiling. The ones who pivot when the plan changes. The ones who keep believing in what’s possible, even when it looks different than expected.
Because sometimes, the most meaningful moments come with thunder in the background and mascara running in the rain.
Together:
Here’s to 23 years of partnership, leadership, and laughter. To new beginnings. And to all the storms we’ve weathered and will weather still.