Bride: Maring + Tim
As anyone with a smartphone knows, there’s an app for everything—including meeting your soulmate. And so it was for Fairhope native Maring Eberlein and her husband, Tim Ladd, who matched on an app in January of 2018. Upon Maring’s suggestion, the couple’s first date was at Chicago arcade bar, Headquarters. Maring explains, “We’d both come from work—I was dressed appropriately for the very casual tech company for which I was working at the time. Tim showed up in a full suit, and he also wasn’t drinking for dry January. I wasn’t sure how the night would go.”
The first date went so well, however, that there were many more dates to follow—four years of them, in fact. Knowing that they wanted to spend forever together, the two decided to take their relationship to the next level. “The proposal was supposed to happen at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.” says Maring, who goes on to recount how her custom engagement ring was delayed—which also meant the actual proposal was put on hold…
…Until, back home in Chicago, Maring and Tim went to their favorite restaurant, Taureaux Tavern. “It was a gorgeous summer night, and we went for a walk after dessert and found a bench in a quiet spot on the Chicago River. Eventually, Tim waited for a perfect moment in the conversation and proposed! I remember he fumbled with the ring box, and then opened it upside down—it was all very sweet.”
On March 4, 2023, Maring met Tim under the chuppah that members of her family have been married under for years. It was originally a lace bed cover that belonged to Maring’s great-grandmother, and it inspired her to select her beautiful strapless champagne-colored gown with a Swiss dot pattern. Taking in the beautiful view of Mobile Bay with their friends and family gathered around them, the couple were pronounced married—with one unexpected glitch. “In Jewish weddings, you step on the glass, but it’s actually pretty common to step on a light bulb for an easier and louder break,” says Maring. We thought the bulb we planned to use was glass, but it was plastic. Luckily, my dress was big enough to catch it, and no one could see what happened when it shot out from under our feet!”