Elegant Fairmont Banff Springs Wedding
This elegant wedding at the Fairmont Banff Springs was absolutely stunning! Read more below to hear Maja and Casey’s story.
Their Story
Our story blends the old world and the new and many places in between. In one sense, it is a terrifying story, because of the very unlikely chance we would meet at all. Not to mention meet at the right time and the right place.
Casey was born in California and grew up there, but career and curiosity took him to the East Coast. In 2015, he nearly returned to California for good, but instead decided on one final stint back east, in Washington, D.C.
Some years earlier, while Casey was already well into grade school (!), Maja was born. It was complicated from the start though—she was born in Bosnia, to a wonderful Serbian family, but a war was ongoing in the Balkans at that time. When Maja was six years old, she and family were forced to leave on a dime, headed westward. The Mastilovic family ultimately landed in Virginia. One of three daughters in a close-knit family, Maja might well have stayed in Virginia forever. But, like Casey, career and curiosity took her a bit north, to Washington, D.C.
One sunny May day in the district, Casey walked into the Justice Department to begin work as a prosecutor. The first face to greet him was Maja’s. Maja, like Casey, had sought out public service.
It is generally frowned upon to ask out a human resources professional your first day at a new job. Still worse for Casey, six months would pass before he would cross paths with Maja again. During that time, Casey asked just about every new hire whether they had met and learned anything about the woman with the big brown eyes and magical smile. Still no crossing of paths though. Justice is quite large, with multiple units and offices, and it seemed like all hope of reconnecting was lost.
And then, the holidays worked their magic! Alongside a super classy margarita machine at the government holiday party, Casey saw Maja again for the first time in months. As it were, Casey was nearly hallucinating that night with a 103 degree fever, and he left the party after about twenty minutes to splash cold water on his face. Staring down both the fever and his nerves in the bathroom mirror, Casey decided it was not a close call. He had to go back in and talk to her. He did. It was brief. But he managed not to screw it up too badly. Critically, he learned her name: “Maya.”
The next move was Casey’s, and an easy one he thought. All he had to do was find her in DOJ’s email database, send a note, get some colleagues together for happy hour, and see where it went. Unfortunately, Maja’s name is not spelled “Maya.” Nor is it spelled “Maia,” “Mia,” or any other of the forty different spellings Casey could think of. Days went by. Name dictionaries were consulted. A private investigator was nearly hired. And then he found it!
Fast forward to 2017, Maja’s mother gave Casey permission to ask Maja to marry. Casey and Maja both had opportunities in California, drove cross country, and settled in San Francisco.
Fast forward to 2019, Casey and Maja were on safari in South Africa. The guide stopped the jeep at sunset during a night drive, near “Crocodile River” in Kruger. Maja was so excited about the champagne and snacks that she almost didn’t notice when Casey dropped to his knee!
The Wedding Day
Our wedding theme was simple elegance. Held at the Fairmont Banff Springs, our colors were white, black, green and gold. We had 75 guests in attendance – which was the perfect size as they brought the party and incredible energy, but we still managed to get personal 1×1 time with each guest. Some of our favorite details were the “matchmaker” sign on a friend’s chair that had a huge role in our relationship in the early days. We also wrote a personalized card as the place setting for every guest in attendance. In each card, we wrote a personal message or memory about how they have touched our individual or collective lives.
This took us a few weeks to write, but was such a special touch for our family and friends!
