Who? Eric Martsolf (Ethan) and Lisa Kouchak
When? October 10, 2003
Where? Occasions at Laguna Village, Laguna Beach, CA

Soap Opera Digest: Were you a big part of planning your wedding?
Eric Martsolf: I became a big part. Initially, I was told to stay out of the planning by every man I know in the universe. But, you get excited and you want to have some say in what goes on. I got to ax pink flowers. We got burgundy [flowers]; that was my big triumph in the wedding planning.

Digest: Did anything go wrong on the big day?
Martsolf: It rained profusely that morning. The wedding was scheduled at 5 p.m., and it cleared up at the last second. As the preacher was walking down the stairs -- it sounds corny -- the clouds parted and the sun beamed down at the last minute. No one even paid attention to the wedding, everyone was staring up at the sky going, 'Oh, my God, it's so beautiful.' I really have to say, it was a perfect wedding. Anyone who was there would attest to it. It went off without a hitch. I was so happy about it.

Digest: Did you see Lisa before the ceremony?
Martsolf: No, but I almost did. We were in Laguna Beach, which is a small beach town, and my friends and I were walking to get something to eat and the salon where she was getting her hair done was off to the left. I literally started to turn my neck over to her chair, not knowing she was there and my friend pushed me into the middle of the street and said, "Don't look!" She ducked underneath the chair. It was pretty funny, but I didn't see her.

Digest: What was your reaction when you first saw Lisa in her wedding gown?
Martsolf: There's a picture of it, and I've never seen my face like that before. I was in awe; I was in total awe. First of all, she had all this hair that I had never seen before. I don't know if it was hers or not [chuckles], but it looked beautiful. It was just perfect. She was walking down this white staircase and we had the music to the movie Somewhere In Time playing. It was beautiful and the sun shot out as soon as she came [to the stairs]. It was awesome. I complained my whole way through the wedding [planning], my coworkers will attest, I was like, "This is so expensive and this is a pain in the butt." It's so worth it.

Digest: Who was your best man?
Martsolf: My father. Her mother was the maid of honor. My brother was in there, too, love him to death, but my dad and I are very close.

Digest: Did you write your vows?
Martsolf: No, we didn't. She was like, "Honey, I know at work you have to memorize like 40 pages a day, so I'm not going to make you memorize your vows on top of that." I think she was being sarcastic, but it was sweet.

Digest: What was Occasions like?
Martsolf: It's a site that caters to weddings. It's on a cliff and overlooks the ocean. The reception was on-site, so nobody had to drive anywhere. Nobody had to worry about getting lost. It's the wedding, it's the reception; all-inclusive. It worked out really well.

Digest: Did you have a DJ or a band?
Martsolf: A DJ; I couldn't find a band that knew a lot of Barry Manilow covers [laughs], so I had to go with the classic DJ.

Digest: You always say you don't know how to dance, so how was your first dance?
Martsolf: She's a professional dancer, so she wanted to choreograph a whole routine for the first dance. I dipped her and that was about as far as it went.

Digest: What was your song?
Martsolf: Our song was "Amazed" by Lonestar.

Digest: Did you sing to Lisa during the reception?
Martsolf: No, she wanted me to. I thought it would be cheesy, so I didn't.

Digest: How does it feel to be wearing a wedding ring?
Martsolf: Heavy. It's really heavy. Not symbolically heavy, but I've never worn jewelry on my hands before, so I keep hitting my hands. I kill people now because I'm hitting them with the ring.

Digest: How has your life changed now that you're married?
Martsolf: My life hasn't changed at all. I think that's the big illusion about guys getting married, you think your life is going to change and you think you can't do [things], but your significant other lets up a little. They are a little more comfortable now that you've made a commitment, so life is a little easier. It's nice. There's total trust, there's total commitment and it's very relaxing. I'm a more relaxed guy. I recommend it.