Watermark's Wedding Bells: Vicky and Amanda Salazar

(Photo by Ann Coffman Photography)

Vicky Salazar will never forget the evening of Nov. 16, 2018 – it’s the day she met her future wife and tried to call security on her.

That night, Amanda Salazar – a performer and event producer in the Tampa Bay area known as Mayven Missbehavin – wandered into G St. Pete, where Vicky was bartending. They’d never met before, but Amanda knew other staff members at the bar and Vicky immediately caught her eye.

When she stepped away to use the bathroom, Vicky received a text from the bar’s security guard that clearly wasn’t written by the security guard. It read, “I’m Amanda. I’m the girl downstairs … You’re cute.”

“Oh my gosh. I was so uncomfortable. I didn’t even answer it,” Vicky says.

Back at the bar, Amanda had a lot of questions for Vicky’s co-workers: “Is she single? What’s her name? What’s her story?”

When Vicky returned from her break, the performer watched her work from across the room. Eventually, Amanda moved closer to – and even behind – the bar.

“She was standing against the wall staring at me. I was so uncomfortable. I don’t like being on the spot like that,” Vicky says. “Then, when she came behind the bar it was like, ‘Who is this strange girl? Where’s security?’”

Amanda said, “I was 100% intoxicated, obviously.”

She gave it one last shot before leaving G. “She said something like, ‘We’re two souls and we should be souls together,’” Vicky recalls.

Amanda corrects her wife, clarifying that the line was actually: “We’re both humans and we should hang out sometime. Here’s my number and you should use it.”

Not long after this encounter, Vicky began following Amanda on social media, though she didn’t know it was the same person. They liked each other’s photos, sometimes commenting on posts. One night, Vicky shared an Instagram story and Amanda messaged her, asking her what she was up to that night. They wound up meeting for drinks.

“I bought her large French fries and the rest is history,” Vicky muses.

“We went on a date, a very good date. It was a long date, as lesbians do. We’re still on that first date, today,” Amanda says.

The couple got serious quickly, though neither of them intended to get into a relationship. Vicky was drawn to Amanda’s unique talent and lifestyle, as well as her business savvy.

“She was very much her own way,” Vicky says. “She did her own thing [with] an endless amount of talent. I love it.”

Vicky was primarily working as a virtual teller for a credit union when they met in addition to bartending. Amanda inspired her “to never limit myself,” she says, and since then she’s earned her personal training certificate and formed an event production company.

Beyond the initial attraction, Amanda says she was immediately comfortable with Vicky. “It was almost like we had met before,” she recalls. “It was very comfortable. Basically, not an awkward first date.”

She was also drawn to her kindness, laidback personality, responsible nature and intellect. “I just felt like, and still do, to this day, that she has such a big heart and is so kind,” Amanda says. “She’s always made me feel really safe.”

Within months of dating, they talked about marriage and spending their lives together. So, Vicky decided to propose at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in March 2019.

Knowing that one of Amanda’s friends performed as a mermaid at the festival, Vicky conspired with her to plan a big proposal. While visiting the mermaid tank at the event, the friend handed Amanda a rock that had the words “turn around” on it.

When Amanda turned around, she found that many of her friends and family members had snuck up behind them and Vicky proposed in front of them all.

“I wanted to pee my pants it made me so nervous, more nervous than any show, anything I’ve ever done,” Amanda says.

When the pandemic hit, they briefly paused their wedding planning. Luckily, they had already chosen an outdoor venue – Cypress Creek Event Venue in Land O’Lakes. Still, there were some hiccups, including limiting their guest list.

“We never really wanted a super big wedding, but I know that it definitely made it difficult for a lot of our older family and friends that are out of town or that are immunocompromised to make it, which we totally understand,” Amanda says.

The venue staff made wedding planning during a pandemic a breeze, however, so they were able to truly enjoy their big day.

“For a minute, we weren’t sure we’d be able to do it,” Amanda says. “We had no idea what the restrictions would be at the time and they said, ‘No matter what, we’ll make it happen.’ And they did.”