Linzie Roberts and Ryan Burkitt met in Oklahoma City through the bride's best friend and matron of honor. Linzie’s best friend and her husband had moved into an apartment complex in the heart of Oklahoma City, and she was always on the lookout for a potential suitor since Linzie was the one who introduced her to her husband.
The apartment complex had a dog park in it and Lauren, Linzie’s best friend, met up with Ryan there one day while the dogs were playing. Lauren knew she liked this guy and his dog, so she decided to invite him to a game night at their apartment, which Linzie was going to attend. Linzie knew he would be there for her to scope out, but he knew nothing about the set up at all.
“Everyone entered the reception on the beach and witnessed the most beautiful sunset.”
When Linzie first met Ryan, she was instantly attracted to him. Knowing he had a dog was also a plus. Game night served as an opportunity to show off her competitive side, which Ryan matched as well. Although he didn’t know he was invited to game night due to ulterior motives, he thought Linzie was attractive, social, and engaging. His interest grew once they were split into teams in a heated game of “salad bowl” – a combination of catchphrase and charades. Ryan’s team ended up winning, and he was delighted by Linzie’s simultaneously impressed and annoyed reaction. There was a mutual physical attraction between the two, but it was the intellectual parity and lighthearted competition that made their potential connection all the more intriguing.
After they became a couple, Linzie and Ryan went to rival undergraduate schools. Linzie went to Oklahoma State University and Ryan attended the University of Oklahoma. Ryan is a pilot in the air force and his unit was getting to perform the flyover before an Oklahoma State football game. During the game, he had the opportunity to go out on the field during the third quarter to be recognized for his service and the flyover. He invited Linzie and her parents to go down to the sidelines with him. Linzie and her parents are all die-hard fans and attend all the games. Her parents knew what was coming, but Linzie thought it was just a great opportunity to be able to go down to the field and watch from the sidelines.
After Ryan was introduced, he motioned for all of them to come out on the field for a quick picture. He then got down on one knee and proposed, prompting everyone in the stands to cheer for them. With Ryan being such a big OU fan, Linzie was doubly surprised that he popped the question at an OSU game.
The wedding planning process soon followed. As avid travelers, the couple immediately knew they wanted to host a destination wedding in a beach or mountain setting. They wanted their wedding celebration to feel like a vacation for their guests, so they decided that a beach destination would be the biggest crowd pleaser – especially in Mexico, where most of their guests could easily travel.
While the couple had never been to Cabo, they had heard great things about the area. After booking a trip to Cabo to do some wedding venue hunting, they actually ended up booking the wedding before their departure. A relative, Drenda Roberts from Bentley Travel Design, had visited Mar del Cabo and knew it would fit perfectly with the couple’s vision. Linzie and Ryan fell in love with the property just from seeing the photos.
Planning a destination wedding at Mar del Cabo ended up being an easy experience, especially with Amy Abbott Events and Ivette Hernandez on board as their wedding experts. Ivette was the perfect complement to the couple’s laid-back personalities, and she fulfilled the bride’s goal of having the wedding planning process being as stress-free as possible. She was there throughout the entire wedding weekend, making sure everyone had everything they needed while the events unfolded seamlessly. The only thing Linzie and Ryan had to do was show up and enjoy their friends and family.
When the big day arrived, the bride and groom exchanged letters during the day, which made them feel so connected even though they spent the whole day apart. Those letters served as a special reminder as to why they were entering this marriage together. The bridal party was buzzing with excitement, while sipping on champagne and snacking on fries and Coca-Cola.
After a beautiful wedding ceremony, a donkey made an appearance during cocktail hour, which was the only request Ryan had for the wedding. The couple had seen a donkey at an animal sanctuary who was featured in wedding photos, so Ivette made sure to deliver. Instead of a photo booth, guests had a chance to take pictures with the donkey who was decked out in party attire and a flower crown.
Since Mar del Cabo has a Grecian vibe, the couple wanted their wedding décor to play off the abundant flowers that already graced the property. The reception was covered with lots of pinks, oranges, pops of green, blue, and terra cotta accents.
When Linzie and Ryan visited Cabo and Mar del Cabo before the wedding, their food tasting involved sampling everything on the menu. During their tasting, they asked the hotel’s wedding coordinator how she could partake in tastings all the time, to which she revealed that they’ve never had a couple who wanted to try the entire menu before. The couple’s dedication to choosing the perfect wedding menu paid off, as they received endless compliments from guests that it was the best food they had ever eaten at a wedding. There were grilling stations with steak, shrimp, and octopus; grilled veggies and creamed spinach; and signature cocktails in honor of the couple’s dogs, Sawyer and Boz. The “His” cocktail was a spicy jalapeno margarita, and “Hers” was a watermelon margarita.
The father-daughter dance was an extra special moment for the bride, and they danced to an upbeat song per her father’s request. Another favorite memory was when everyone entered the reception on the beach and witnessed the most beautiful sunset, which turned the sky pink and matched all of the wedding flowers and décor.
A beautiful wedding experience needed to be followed by a wonderful honeymoon. As such, the newlyweds will be going to Peru and sailing down the Amazon River with Delfin Cruises to celebrate their honeymoon and one-year anniversary.
WEDDING TALENT
Location: Mar del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Photography: Rachelle Lynn, Oklahoma City, OK