Matt & Eric: An Elegant Atlanta Georgia Wedding
Matt and Eric were both pursuing careers in musical theater in New York City when an open-call came about for a production of Fiddler on the Roof. Both Matt and Eric showed up about the same time for the audition and so happened to stand in line next to each other for the wait outside. It all started with Eric asking an innocent question about the audition. That led to a bit of flirting, and when Matt left to start his audition, Eric immediately regretted not getting his phone number. Eric watched Matt leave, and then once he finished his audition ran straight over to the sign-up sheet to spot his name. He knew Matt signed up right before him, so found the name and memorized, “Matt - Lummus. Hummus with an L.” He instantly searched Matt on Facebook, and after waiting about an hour, sent Matt a message. Naturally, Facebook messages led to a phone number exchange and after a few texts, Eric asked Matt out on a date. Their first date was set quite casually for a Holiday Market in Union Square, followed by tea at a nearby place just a couple blocks away.
“The dynamic from the beginning was pretty clear. While both of us were definitely attracted to each other, Eric was extroverted and a bit flirter. He liked to push my buttons and try to get me to come out of my shell.” Eric liked that Matt was this shy, beautiful boy with a coy silliness underneath. Matt liked that Eric pulled him out of his shell and was up for spontaneous adventures. “On our second date, the sparks really flew. After an oyster happy hour and wine in the West Village, we walked through the neighborhood holding hands until we reached Artbar, a fun spot in Chelsea with cozy couches and good drinks.” At the time, Matt was clean shaven and Eric had a pretty big beard. Eric asked Matt if he had ever kissed a boy with a beard before, and Matt said, “No…” Eric said: “…that’s your cue to kiss me.” Matt laughed and then responded: “You make me nervous.” Eric interpreted that as a good nervous. "We shared a pretty amazing first kiss. After that, we couldn’t get enough of each other and tried to go on as many dates as possible.” Matt lived in Queens and Eric was in Brooklyn, but despite the hour-long commute, we made it happen.
The following months were a blur. Matt and Eric grew close together spending the summer in spontaneity, at one point taking the subway all the way to Coney Island together to watch the fireworks. Just 9-months after they met, Eric invited Matt to his brother’s wedding. “Matt flew to St. Louis, and this introverted shy Catholic boy interacted with my huge Jewish family beautifully. He tore up the dance floor. It was magical.” Eric explained that this is when it hit him that he loved this man.
As the relationship got more serious, the topic of marriage came about. “We both wanted to wear rings after getting engaged, so months before the actual proposal we chose rings and Matt got a beautiful box that would hold both rings. Matt made it clear that he wanted a proposal that was not in a big public place, but somewhere away from the apartment that felt special.” Eric explained that he landed on doing the proposal on Christopher St. Pier in the West Village, close to where they had their second date, and also nearby to their favorite restaurant, Malatesta.
Eric’s friend and photographer, Corey Rives hid away to snap a few photos and Eric told Matt that their friend had invited them out to an event close by, and they should most definitely take a detour to their favorite spot on the pier. “Matt knew what was happening, but he did a great job of acting normal on the walk from the subway to the pier.” Eric laughed. After admiring the view, Eric turned to Matt. He told Matt all the reasons why he wanted to spend his life with him, and then got down on one knee. After Matt said yes, much to Eric’s surprise, Matt then got down on his own knee, and proposed to Eric! Strangers clapped as the two fiancés kissed. Both were overwhelmed with emotion, Matt explained. “We went to our favorite restaurant and shared a nice dinner and then headed to the Ace Hotel where our closest friends surprised us. Some of my friends had flown all the way in from Atlanta, so it was very special.”
The wedding was set for October 12th, 2019 in Matt’s hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. The two celebrated with 165 of their closest friends and family in a beautiful venue that for them, had the ideal atmosphere — an open layout with an industrial, yet rustic-chic design.
Though their wedding planning process succeeded with flying colors, it was very surprising for Matt and Eric to experience how being a same sex couple is still considered a novelty in the wedding industry. “While every single vendor we worked with was amazing and treated us with incredible kindness, we did encounter some people who clearly did not have much experience with same sex couples. Whether it was a bakery that only had room for “bride” and “groom” on their forms or event planners at venues not knowing how to discuss the wedding parties without saying “bridal party” and “bridal suite,” it was a definite surprise being “othered” in that way. We hope that the industry continues to evolve and become more accustomed to all kinds of couples.”
The grooms chose Eric’s close family friend, Lisa Martin, to officiate. “We chose her because while we did not want a religious figure to officiate, we wanted someone Jewish who could incorporate the Jewish traditions we both found meaning in, while feeling very personal. Lisa is a part of the Human Rights Campaign, her job involves inclusive diversity at her big law firm, her daughter (one of Eric’s best friends) is gay, and she is a huge ally to the LGBTQ community. She was perfect.”
Eric explained, “We made sure that during the ceremony, Lisa thanked all the people who made same sex marriage legal, and she beautifully observed that when Matt and I met six years ago, we would not be able to do what we were doing that day. Many people told us after how they took for granted their ability to be married, and it made it all the more special. One friend said that she felt our marriage changed their small Atlanta community for the better. It was the highest compliment we received.”
After Matt and Eric walked down the aisle, they turned to face each other and read their vows. Matt read to Eric, "I can’t wait for the lifetime of adventures we have ahead of us, and most of all, I can’t wait to have a family with you and raise Judy Garland-loving, Chanukah and Christmas celebrating beautiful little babies. I can’t wait to blend our favorite traditions from our own families and spend summers in Amelia Island teaching our kids how to build sandcastles and play bocce ball…”
Eric responded with his vows, “I love so many things about you. You are beautiful on the outside and the inside. You add beauty to our lives through your talents as a photographer, planning amazing trips, and creating a beautiful home. I love how you can communicate without words… A few nights ago I burst into tears while watching HGTV by myself. They showed a house with a wrap-around porch, and I instantly had a vision of us in the kitchen while our children ran around our home. I cried tears of happiness. Growing up I never thought that sort of life was possible of me, but now I see it all. I see the life I dreamed of with you. You are in every vision that I see. And today is just the beginning. Thank you for choosing me, Matthew Hummus with an L. I love you.”
With many tears all around, Matt and Eric said “I do”, and kissed to seal their commitment. “We were both very overwhelmed with emotion on the wedding day. Both of us did not think this was possible growing up in Missouri and Georgia, and the fact that we were not only marrying someone we love so much, we were having a big beautiful wedding with all of our closest friends and family. During the ketubah signing, our officiant had us read the words of the ketubah out loud together. We were not expecting to do this, and as we read the words together, we both began sobbing. It hit us that we were becoming a family and our gratitude came pouring out of us.”
The two danced into the night, celebrating with beats from Yvonne Monet, making the atmosphere reminiscent of a nightclub. One of the highlights of the wedding day included Matt and Eric’s friend Mia Rose Lynne’s compilation of original music she played for their ceremony. “She also wrote us an original song about our story that I gifted Matt!” Eric added.
“As two performers, we felt some pressure to do a bit of choreography for our first dance. Matt came up with the idea of opening with “A Chorus Line”, and as we worked on it, we realized we had to go big or go home. The dance was a hit!”
When asked what advice they would give to other couples planning their wedding, Matt and Eric offered this, “Sit down and decide what type of wedding you want to have before booking anything or discussing with family members. When the couple is very clear on what they want, the people around them usually respect their decisions. This definitely applies to an interfaith couple as well. Religion can be deeply personal, so the couple must be on the same page about the religious involvement before telling their family members how it will work.” Matt and Eric being from Catholic and Jewish faiths, it worked well for them to be completely open with one another from the beginning so that they could incorporate and mix everything in a way that was inclusive enough for everyone.
Two days after their wedding celebrations, Matt and Eric left on a 12 day honeymoon in Italy. “To be honest, planning the honeymoon stressed us out a bit.” With all the insanity of planning a wedding, Matt and Eric didn’t have quite enough time to get all the details aligned. “We were exhausted at the beginning of the trip. But we would not have changed a thing. We started in Cinque Terre for a few days, then went to Florence for a good chunk of time, before we spent a couple days each in Venice and Rome. We planned enough to know where we were staying, a few experiences, like a cooking class with an amazing gay couple outside of Florence, and some places we wanted to eat, but we planned a lot as we went. We used ZOLA for our registry, and “registered” for specific meals and experiences, and ended up paying for a lot of our honeymoon through that. We varied the trip by mostly staying in airbnb’s, but splurged for a nice hotel in Venice.” Celebrating with a bottle of wine a night, their trip was a good time they will remember for the rest of their lives.
For more adventures from Matt & Eric, follow them on Instagram at @Mattlummus and @EricWillz.
Ceremony & Reception Venue — The Foundry at Puritan Mill
Photographer — Mattie Bell Photography (Instagram @MattieMBell)
Planner/Designer — Laura Burchfield Events
Invitations — Minted
Caterer — Endive Atlanta
Cake — Icing Cake Design
Floral Arrangements - Faith Flowers
DJ/Music — Yvonne Monet
Hair/Makeup — Nikole Morrow-Pettus & Rod Lawson
