THE COUPLE: Lindsey Whyte, 35, a longtime Montgomery County Public Schools teacher who grew up in Glen Echo and graduated from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, taught kindergarten at Fields Road Elementary School in Gaithersburg during the 2014-2015 school year. Tom Mackey, 38, was raised in Potomac and graduated from Bullis School there. He works at the William F. Bolger Center, a conference center in Potomac.
THE WEDDING: June 21, 2014, at Herrington on the Bay in North Beach, Maryland
HOW THEY MET: Lindsey met Tom when she and a friend attended his annual “Kegs and Eggs” breakfast birthday party at Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda. The couple was surprised that they hadn’t met before—especially since they both lived in apartments on Bethesda’s Battery Lane and played golf at Chevy Chase and Congressional country clubs. “We lived not even a door from each other,” Lindsey says. “We had no idea.”
FIRST DATE: In March 2012, Lindsey and Tom had dinner at Guapo’s and drinks afterward at Saphire Café in Bethesda. They enjoyed their first kiss after walking back to their cars parked in a public garage—where they discovered they’d both received $45 parking tickets. “I still have the parking ticket,” Lindsey says.
THE PROPOSAL: Tom proposed one year later after the couple finished dinner at an Italian restaurant in San Diego’s Little Italy. As Tom got down on one knee, Lindsey says she thought, Oh my gosh—is he really doing this? Couples seated nearby asked for Tom and Lindsey’s phones so they could capture the proposal, she says.
WEDDING THEME: Beach, water, aqua and white
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 146
WHAT MADE THE EVENT SO SPECIAL: “Ever since I was a little girl, I had wanted a beach wedding,” Lindsey says. But the couple realized that asking family and friends—some with young kids and busy lives—to fly to a faraway beach destination would be inconvenient and expensive. So they chose the Herrington resort on the Chesapeake Bay, where they threw a party with a great rock band, an open bar and a homemade photo booth.
FAVORITE MOMENT: Walking down the aisle toward Tom was a highlight for Lindsey, who says she was thinking: We made it. We’re here. Rain had been forecast, but “we all said our prayers and the weather held off. It was 75 and cloudy, which was great for June.”
TIPS ON CUTTING COSTS: Lindsey and Tom used online discount vouchers to order invitations from Wedding Paper Divas, and Lindsey bought her dress during a half-price sale. The couple was more interested in spending money on a great band than on paying for fancy flowers, so they relied on the resort’s referral for a flower arranger who provided “very reasonable” arrangements. Also, a family friend who works for Vineyard Vines was able to find a “Kegs and Eggs” tie in a discontinued color for Tom, his groomsmen and the couple’s family members.
SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT: Tom and Lindsey had ordered ice cream sandwiches—Tom’s special request—that were to be given to guests after the wedding cake was served. But everyone was having so much fun dancing that the couple forgot about the treats until guests were leaving. The resort staff quickly handed out the sandwiches as guests boarded shuttle buses back to their hotels. “My husband got one,” Lindsey says. “That’s what’s important.”
GOWN: One-shoulder chiffon with tiers on the bias by Pronovias La Sposa
THE HONEYMOON: Four days spent zip-lining and relaxing at Dreams Resort & Spa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
THE DETAILS: Catering by Herrington on the Bay; cake, Cakes by Rachael; invitations, Wedding Paper Divas; photography, Paul Barrios Photography; rentals, Men’s Wearhouse; music, Faded Image; and transportation, Lighthouse Limousines.
