Bride: Tisa Rabun, 30
Groom: James “Adam” Marshall, 32
Occupations: Rabun, recruiting director; Marshall, auto salesman
Homebase: Connecticut
Wedding Date: October 16, 2010
Wedding Location: ceremony: Faith Congressional Church of Hartford, Hartford, CT; reception: The Society Room of Hartford, Hartford, CT

Going to See a Man About a Car Tisa Rabun was sick and tired of being sick and tired about her car, so the independent woman that she was made her way to a car dealership to fix it. “I decided to buy an SUV; it was about 7:00 in the evening on a Wednesday,” recalls Tisa. She noticed Adam — who was a salesman at said dealership — soon after she arrived but became annoyed when he didn’t offer to assist her. “She did ask if I could help her but I passed the business onto one of my co-workers. Man was she upset! I had a trick up my sleeve,” explains Adam. As the owner of a shiny new vehicle, Tisa quickly got over Adam’s snub. “At the time I was enjoying being single: I had just bought a condo, I was buying my first car by myself and I was finally okay with not being in a relationship,” she explains. But fate had other plans…

In Sickness and Health During one of her follow-up visits to the dealership, Adam asked Tisa for telephone number. “I handed him my business card and he asked, ‘What is this? I don’t want your work number, I want your cellular,'” remembers Tisa with a chuckle. Adam’s frankness impressed Tisa and soon the two were dating although Adam points out Tisa “played hard to get at first”. Their courtship took a drastic turn however on March 24, 2007. This is the day Adam was in a car accident that nearly cost him his life. “I was in the hair salon when I got the call,” whispers Tisa. She adds, “He had basically broken his forehead. It is a miracle that he’s alive. I had only known him for a couple months but I remember asking God not to let him die.” “I thought she would have left me but she was a trooper and stuck with me through doctors appointments, lawyer meetings, pain throughout the night…She was stronger than me at some points,” Adam confides. “People thought I was crazy. They would say, “You don’t have to take care of him, you just met him. It turned up the dial on the seriousness of our relationship very early,” Tisa admits.

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[All images (excluding honeymoon pic) by Regina Fleming.]

And Baby Makes Three Obviously the couple formed a teflon bond while getting through such a tragic situation but their love grew even stronger when they welcomed their precious baby girl Addison into the world in 2009. “The day I had my daughter was the defining day of my life,” says Tisa. Adam was already feeling the marriage itch but admits that his mother helped him seal the deal. “She said to me, ‘Boy, she’s the one — you better not f*$k this up!’ When you hear that from your mother being an only child you better listen,” Adam says with a laugh. So with Tisa’s father’s approval in tow, Adam proposed to his beloved before her family during the Christmas of 2008 while Tisa was pregnant. The expectant mother said “Yes!” with tears of joy.

Our Wedding, Our Way The loving couple jumped the broom (literally) before 190 guests in a hometown church and followed the ceremony with a fun-filled reception. Their wedding day was far from cookie-cutter and had dozens of unique touches from a potato bar at cocktail hour to a Spiderman special appearance during the garter toss. Tisa shares this advice for other newlyweds-to-be, “Don’t be afraid to break the mold, do things that are special to you guys as a couple.” She adds, “We were already culminating finances and raising a child together so our wedding just made it official and was more of a celebration.” New hubby Adam makes his feelings plain, “Tisa, you are a wonderful wife and mother and I’m glad you walked into Liberty Mazda that day!”

Check out Adam’s hilarious Spiderman garter belt removal here:

Tisa’s Money Saving Tips for Future Brides:

Ask and You Might Receive “Airport shuttles can be used to transport guests so it is worth asking if the hotel(s) where your out-of-town guests are staying have shuttle buses available,” notes Tisa. “We still had a limo but we spent much less than we would have compared to also renting a party bus or party limo.”

Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously “There are so many kits you can purchase to create your own invitation suite,” shares Tisa. “It is easy to get snotty about what you’re doing but we created everything from our invites to our menu cards at home and I still get compliments on them,” she confesses.

Home is Where the Heart Is There’s no need to host your rehearsal dinner, farewell brunch or other gatherings surrounding your wedding day at a restaurant. “We had our rehearsal dinner at the home of a family friend because it was starting to feel like another wedding in terms of costs and menu. We bought beer, wine and liquor at a reasonable price and rented a pizza truck — they are very popular in Hartford — for our bridal party and out of town guests,” Tisa says.

Take a look at past Tie the Knot Tuesday features here.

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