Meg Alumno & Michael Baldus

Meg and Michael met in college at Drury University during the end of Meg’s senior year. Meg thought Michael was cute and loved his sarcastic humor similar to her own, but she was planning to move to Florida and didn’t want to start a new relationship. Michael turned out to be good friends with the boyfriend of Meg’s roommate, so they saw each other a lot that summer. The night before Meg flew to Miami, Michael drove to her house with Andy’s and told her he couldn’t let her leave without expressing how he felt and trying long distance dating. Meg didn’t think it made logical sense, but she followed her heart and the rest is history. They’ve now been together for seven years and have a beautiful daughter.

When it came to the proposal, Michael had to get creative as they had just had their daughter Lucy in December of 2019 and a few months later were placed in lockdown due to COVID-19. He planned a weekend away in mid-September with Meg to Northwest Arkansas. During the getaway, Michael and Meg walked down to the dock to kayak and he got down on one knee and popped the question.

Meg and Michael wanted to incorporate as much of the Ozarks as they could into their wedding since they both grew up here. They chose to have their wedding festivities at The Workshop at Finley Farms because they saw it as a true Ozarks landmark. Meg also wanted to incorporate her Filipino heritage into the wedding and did so by gifting her bridal party woven mahogany hand fans and by wearing a blue topaz ring from her great great grandmother. Meg and Michael's favorite moment from their wedding day was when it was them and Lucy on the dance floor for a few special songs together. Meg says, “I look at those pictures often and I smile big every time.”