Love – American style

It’s hard to find a couple more quintessentially American than David and Christy Machak. They both work in the government — David as a legislative correspondent for Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Christy as a Foreign Service officer.
They got engaged on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and even tied the knot on Presidents Day.

But when David and Christy walked down the aisle in February, they decided to spurn the land of their forefathers in favor of a romantic destination wedding in Florence, Italy.  

David and Christy, both 25, have been together since their college days at Denison University. The inspiration for their exotic wedding locale came four years ago when Christy was studying in Germany. She was planning on going to Florence for the weekend to visit a friend, but missed her flight and was forced to cancel the whole trip.

“I was very upset, so I called David to tell him how upset I was,” Christy said.

“At 2:30 in the morning!” David laughed, pointing out the time difference.

Christy continued, “So we’d been dating for a couple years at this point, and David said, ‘Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take you to Italy on your honeymoon.’”

Christy held him to that late-night promise, and after he proposed last July, he began taking on odd jobs — in addition to his regular gig in Congress — to cover the cost of the wedding. The couple arranged the whole event, which took place in a hilltop chapel and a historic villa, with the help of a wedding planner through www.weddingsitaly.com .

“That was the most amazing thing,” David said. “We planned our wedding from 900 miles away through an online wedding planner, and the entire wedding process was smooth. I carried her dress 800 miles on a plane in my hands, through airports with my hand raised above my head, but I didn’t lose her dress [and] I didn’t forget my shoes.”

Getting married outside of the U.S. meant that the number of allowable guests was relatively small — there were eight people present in addition to the couple. Christy’s sister, Katie Rhodes, served as maid of honor, and David’s best friend, Grant Gryska, was the best man. Other people in attendance included two sets of aunts and uncles and David’s parents.

There are perks to getting married in Italy. “Obviously getting married was my favorite part, but the food was phenomenal,” said Christy.

Added David, “We had a seven- or eight-course Italian meal that was absolutely top-notch.”  

Christy and David got to know each other when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman at Denison. They both worked in the admissions office. What originally attracted David to Christy was her smile. He added: “She has a wonderful laugh, and I was lucky enough to always be able to make her laugh.”

Christy said, “I liked that he was different, and didn’t go with the crowd.”

Seven years into their relationship, those traits are still evident. Christy has a softer personality, but does most of the talking, while David seldom speaks unless it is to throw a joke into the conversation.

David graduated a year before Christy and moved directly to Washington. She followed a year later and enrolled in graduate school at George Washington University. David first worked for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), his hometown congressman, until he moved to Lewis’s office in July 2006.

David said the engagement “was a long time coming,” but he was still jittery when it came time to pop the question. He asked Christy to go on a walk from Tidal Basin to the Lincoln Memorial, and, as she recalls, “as we were walking I could tell he was a little bit nervous, so I started to suspect [something],” Christy said.

David proposed “on the steps of the Lincoln, in front of thousands of people who stood up and cheered and clapped for me,” he recalled with a smile.

It’s only fitting that a wedding story that started with a walk end with one as well. The couple enjoyed a honeymoon in Rome after their wedding, during which they visited all the tourist sites. “We walked miles,” Christy said.

“We walked miles upon miles every day,” David emphasized. The look on his face suggests he still feels the weariness.

“Oh yeah, we got lost a couple times,” Christy continued.

“It happens. We had fun. That’s how you really see a city,” he said, smiling down at his wife.

The couple will be embarking on another adventure abroad soon: Christy is taking a Foreign Service posting in Germany this summer.