Evalyse and Mitch met at the now defunct Ropewalk in Baltimore’s Federal Hill. He was with friends, dancing and singing to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song, and Evalyse says when she spotted him, she knew she had to meet him. She struck up a conversation, and Mitch says he was surprised—and tried his best not to overthink the situation. They shared a first date at Taco Bell and say eventually they knew they’d be lifelong partners, but neither felt strongly about marriage. Then one random Thursday night over dinner at an Arlington wine bar—eight and a half years after their initial meeting—Mitch asked Evalyse if she wanted to get married, and she said yes. Instead of a big wedding, they decided to elope.
The morning of their February wedding day, they took the Metro from their home to a law firm in Arlington, where they signed papers and sealed their marriage with a kiss. Afterwards, they shared fries, drinks—plus a funfetti wedding cake—at Courthaus Social, where they called their parents to share the good news before heading home to enjoy Thai Curry takeout as their first official meal as a married couple. They decided to wait to tell the rest of their loved ones, but went that evening to a birthday party, where they say they celebrated with friends who were “none the wiser” about their nuptials. “It was fun having our own little secret for a while,” says Mitch. For their honeymoon, they spent two weeks in Vietnam. See the photos of their elopement below.
The Details
Photography: Emily Belson Photography
Florist: She Loves Me
Cake: Sweet Flour Cakerie
Hair and makeup: Marwa Alsaadi of Ombré Salon & Spa
Bride’s attire: David’s Bridal (pants set); Akira (shoes)
Groom’s attire: Enzo Custom
Transportation: WMATA
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
