Scene Together: Couples on Their Wedding Day

By Jacqueline Miller | April 2023

Mackenzie Eden Schwarz & Keegan Gabriel Ramey
Married June 10, 2022

This beautiful couple were simply meant to be together…forever.  Their fairytale began one summer, and they never looked back. Let’s start at the beginning.

Keegan was born and raised in Danville, Kentucky, where his parents own a disaster restoration company. He grew up working with his hands and learning construction, parlaying his skills into successful ventures in multiple industries. Mackenzie was born farther north, up in Bangor, Maine. When she was 9 months old, her family moved to Danville, Kentucky, and that’s where she grew up. 

Keegan and Mackenzie met in high school. Although they were two years apart in age, which can feel like a lot at that time, their paths crossed in an unlikely setting for romance to blossom—a weightlifting class. But somewhere amongst the awkward grunting and strange gym smells, a tenuous connection was forged. But before this connection could grow into anything more, Mackenzie left Danville—and Keegan—to attend the University of Kentucky, where she would study marketing. 

Fate had a way of intervening, however, and Mackenzie and Keegan would reconnect the very next year at the community pool. She was the stylish attendant; he was the hunky lifeguard. They spent every day together that summer and they knew. They were only 17 and 19, but they both knew in their hearts that what they felt was no summer fling, but lifelong love. 

A few years later, the couple took a spring break getaway to Sarasota where Keegan’s grandparents owned property for nearly 25 years and where Keegan had spent many childhood summers on Siesta Key. Mackenzie was sold, and five years into dating, with college diplomas in hand, the lovebirds took flight and settled in Sarasota. 

In 2021, Keegan and Mackenzie went on vacation to Anchorage, Alaska where they spent a week hiking and camping with Mackenzie’s niece, Maizie. During the last few days of the trip, the trio were the only campers on the Homer Spit and decided to watch the sunset on the beach. Maizie suggested Keegan and Mackenzie take a photo together, but she was secretly recording as Keegan got down on one knee and asked Mackenzie to be his wife. “1,000 times yes!” was Mackenzie’s immediate answer. It could not have been a more beautiful and intimate proposal, with the pink alpenglow in the mountains behind them paired with the wild terrain of Alaska.

Keegan and Mackenzie decided to get married in Kentucky in June of 2022, so all their family could easily attend. They both wanted to be married in the woods, and found the perfect venue at Hemlock Springs, located near the Red River Gorge state park. Mackenzie’s oldest sister, Amy, officiated. Rain threatened, but never surpassed a light atmospheric sprinkling. “We knew our union was destined for luck since day one,” says Mackenzie, who eventually said “I do” under a double rainbow.

The first time that Mackenzie ever visited Keegan’s family home, she saw a sign that hung in the kitchen that said, “And they lived happily ever after.” Mackenzie told her future mother-in-law that, when she and Keegan got married, that sign was all she needed as a wedding present. Unfortunately, in 2020, Keegan’s family home burned down in a fire. When Keegan returned to Kentucky to help clean up the damage to the home, the first thing he searched for and found was the sign, which he and his family surprised Mackenzie with at their rehearsal dinner. That gift represents a wish fulfilled and hangs in the couple’s home today as a special reminder of the time spent at the Ramey family home and the love that binds a family together.

The reception site was a lovely barn with big garage doors opening on the lush bluegrass of Kentucky. The couple wanted their wedding day to be communal and low stress, so the dining tables were set in a simple horseshoe shape with a local taco food truck (Fistful of Tacos) catering, so everyone could eat and drink at their own pace, while being able to engage with everyone else in the room. 

“We could not have asked for a more magical wedding day,” Mackenzie says. “Our hearts were bursting with love and gratitude for our village of people who showed up to celebrate with us.” 

Mackenzie and Keegan plan to go on vacation in June to celebrate their first year of being married and a decade of being together. They hope to make a road trip to Washington state and Montana. In addition, they plan to return to Homer, Alaska in the future to commemorate their engagement. 

What a great love story!

Darcy Kelly-Laviolette & Evan Csulik
Engaged March 10, 2023

This “Scene Together” profile is very personal to all of us at Sarasota Scene. Our very own extremely talented and amazing creative director, Darcy Kelly-Laviolette, recently became engaged to her long-time love, Evan Csulik. 

If you’ve ever met or have worked with Darcy, you know that she is a no-frills, no fuss, no muss kind of gal. She gets things done efficiently, her work is outstanding, and her colleagues, as well as Scene’s advertising partners, love working with her. So, when she told us of her engagement, we knew we had to share her exciting news!

Darcy’s family originally hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Though they’d lived in Florida a long time, they moved to the Sarasota area around 2006. Evan’s family was living in snowy Buffalo, New York, but moved to Sarasota around the same time while his dad was working for Benderson Development Company (and escaping the snow didn’t hurt either!). 

They first met as students at Braden River High School, but generally had different friends. Darcy was a self-called “band geek” and Evan was the “cool-kid-skater type”. It was during spirit week in Darcy’s junior year and Evan’s senior year when they officially met. Evan was dressed like a banana for “Animal Day”, calling himself a “bananimal”. Always one who loves a good pun, his creative costume made Darcy laugh and she loved his originality. 

With Evan a year ahead of Darcy in school, they went their separate ways for a time after high school. But it wasn’t for long. Fate would bring them together again when they were both majoring in illustration at Ringling College. Given the small size of the college, they would see a lot of one another around the campus, and eventually got together during Darcy’s second year at RCAD. 

This career-minded couple spent the last almost nine years focused on their education, career paths, and goals before they were ready to take the next big step. Darcy has worked her way up the ranks at Sarasota Scene and is a very valuable and indispensable part of the team. She not only serves as creative director, but she heads production, and plays a key role in editorial decisions and the general direction of the publication. Evan is a remote background painter for big animation companies like Netflix and Fox Entertainment’s Bento Box, a multiple Emmy® award-winning entertainment content and technology company, which some may recognize as the creator of the hit show Bob’s Burgers. He’s currently working on the recently-announced new animated comedy called Grimsburg, starring Jon Hamm.

The couple loves to go to the beach, and Evan had really wanted to propose to Darcy at their favorite spot on Longboat Key. Severe red tide halted this plan, so instead he booked a patio table overlooking the water at Good Liquids Brewing, a hot new restaurant in Lakewood Ranch’s Waterside development. After dinner, they walked along the water. Evan proposed on one of the docks and Darcy was shocked, never expecting it! He told Darcy he’d been carrying the ring in his pocket for months and didn’t want to wait anymore. Both with March birthdays, he thought what better month to pop the question, especially since it would be a fun celebratory month with family and friends. After the proposal, they went home to their family and had champagne to begin the celebrations. That weekend, Evan also took Darcy to the Tampa Bay Lightning/Winnipeg Jets hockey game. Darcy had never been to a Jets game, so for her it was quite special. It was a weekend of wonderful “firsts” for sure!

Being the low-key couple they are, their choice is a small, intimate wedding with their families and closest friends. We’ll be sure to let you know when it happens and share the pics, so stay tuned! In the meantime, a heartfelt congratulations to Darcy and Evan from all of us at Sarasota Scene! May your life be blessed with much love and happiness!