Wine-shop proposal culminates in wedding

When Chad Maggi decided to propose to his girlfriend of seven years, he wanted to find a way to be romantic — but understated. When the parents of his girlfriend, Katelyn, moved recently to Sarasota, he knew Siesta Key would make a great location, so he began thinking of creative ways to pop the question. After some online searching, he found Siesta Key Tropical Wines and decided it was perfect.

“It was a small shop, so that made it romantic and personal,” Chad said. “It seemed like it fit our style — it was nice and quaint, and it had good wine.”

Chad contacted the shop last March and began working with owner Maureen Rooney to make plans for the proposal in July.

“I was flattered,” Rooney said. “It’s a big deal for us that he wanted to do it here.”

The two began designing a custom wine label that read, “Katelyn, will you marry me? — Chad.”

“I wanted the label to be simple,” Chad said. “I thought this would be a good way to capture the moment in time.”

With the labels in place, the Pennsylvania couple made a trip down to Sarasota, and Chad began making plans for the actual proposal. On the day of the engagement, he took Katelyn to the beach, where he told her they would have to leave soon to meet family for lunch. Coincidentally, Katelyn suggested the couple stop in Siesta Key Tropical Wines on her own, completely unaware of Chad’s plans.

“We went in, sat down and tasted a couple of wines, and then we brought out the bottle with my label on it,” Chad said. “She had no idea it was happening. She looked at the wine then back at me, and I got down on one knee. The rest is history.”

Rooney said this is the first engagement the shop has seen and that she was happy she could be a part of making their engagement special.

“It just made me feel good that I could be a part of it with them,” Rooney said. “I wanted it to be perfect, and now they can always remember it.”

The couple was married Saturday, April 21, and spent their honeymoon in Jamaica.