Pinky Cole of Slutty Vegan and Derrick Hayes of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks got married recently.
The restauranteur couple got married on June 10 at the St. Regis in Atlanta in a pink and white Cinderella-themed ceremony, according to PEOPLE Magazine, and it was everything Cole had hoped for.
“It’s a fairytale, a Cinderella wedding,” Cole told PEOPLE exclusively. “Just the other day, my mother saw me in my dress for the first time, and I never thought I would see myself in a wedding dress. It’s a dream come true because I’m doing something that no one in my family has ever done. To be the first to have a wedding is a big deal. I’m breaking generational patterns and creating a new one.”
Haye could not agree more with his now-new wife.
“This wedding is a dream come true,” Hayes said. “It will be a day of love for so many. It will connect people who may have had hardship in their own relationships, friendships, and family and will bring everyone together.”
The couple first met on June 8, 2020, for a business meeting at Sunflower Cafe in Atlanta. “We talked about politics and connected as friends from there on,” Cole said. Hayes proposed on June 2, 2022, after falling in love with her.
The wedding had 300 guests and offered two dining options: vegan (because Cole is vegan) and nonrestrictive (because Hayes is not vegan).
While Haynes’ guests were treated to a duet plate of stuffed sundried tomato and goat cheese chicken and salmon, herb roasted shrimp, olive and herb whipped potatoes and baby vegetables in a basil butter sauce, Coles’ vegan-minded guests were treated to pan-roasted maitake mushrooms with truffle, vegan roman gnocchi, peas, curled radish, mushroom and sherry reduction, and chef’s garden greens.
