Ashley
and
Manny
Please join us for our wedding celebration on
Our Story
So we met on an app, which seems to be a common theme these days. However, how we met is actually pretty interesting. I've been on dating apps before, so when I downloaded this new one that claimed to be "the last app I'll need", I was just as skeptical of any real or meaningful connection. I reluctantly downloaded this thing completely prepared to go through the familiar motions of monotonous small talk with a healthy side of self loathing. Instead, I matched with Ashley within minutes. I was hooked and it seemed all too good to be true. So we made plans for the weekend, but decided to meet up even earlier to investigate this connection. Turns out the app was right. They lived up to their name and I immediately fell in love with the person on the other side of it.
It took me a while to figure out how I was going to propose. I thought about doing it on a trip we took to an aquarium, however it didn't seem like the right time being that we had Marlowe in tow. Then I realized that my best shot was a romantic getaway where we could disconnect from life for a few days. This was also her birthday weekend, which would have been perfect (the old 2 birds 1 stone concept, but this stone was on a circular piece of gold). So I had found a secluded cabin that overlooked the Great Smokey Mountains and I was going to use the ruse of a "birthday weekend escape". The cabin had a porch and the intent was that I would drop to one knee when either the sun was setting or rising (depending on if I could get her up that early). The scenery, the ambiance, there was no way she could say no.
She didn't have to say no, because work did it for me. I ended up having to work that weekend and couldn't get out of it. Shit.
Now weeks have passed, Ashley was still mildly upset at me for missing her "birthday" weekend, and I was struggling to find a way to propose. I was also getting anxious. Until one day I came to the realization that my proposal to her didn't have to be this larger than life gesture. Maybe the best way to do it was in the home that we were building together (and when I say "building", I should clarify that I mean that in a figurative and literal sense. We do home projects together and work surprisingly well together, which is another sign that I knew she was the one). So I threw out the idea of a Hallmark proposal and got on board with proposing right inside of our living room. On one Friday, I filled the house with over 200 candles and exactly 2 dozen roses (thanks, Shenandoah), then patiently waited for her to get home from work. When she walked in, I couldn't hold it any longer, I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me. In retrospect, I should have at least given her a chance to see the whole setup.
Part of the realization that I had come to was there was never going to be a perfect time. Life doesn't give us that luxury. However, I couldn't wait a second longer for us to continue our story together. I'm glad I didn't.
It took me a while to figure out how I was going to propose. I thought about doing it on a trip we took to an aquarium, however it didn't seem like the right time being that we had Marlowe in tow. Then I realized that my best shot was a romantic getaway where we could disconnect from life for a few days. This was also her birthday weekend, which would have been perfect (the old 2 birds 1 stone concept, but this stone was on a circular piece of gold). So I had found a secluded cabin that overlooked the Great Smokey Mountains and I was going to use the ruse of a "birthday weekend escape". The cabin had a porch and the intent was that I would drop to one knee when either the sun was setting or rising (depending on if I could get her up that early). The scenery, the ambiance, there was no way she could say no.
She didn't have to say no, because work did it for me. I ended up having to work that weekend and couldn't get out of it. Shit.
Now weeks have passed, Ashley was still mildly upset at me for missing her "birthday" weekend, and I was struggling to find a way to propose. I was also getting anxious. Until one day I came to the realization that my proposal to her didn't have to be this larger than life gesture. Maybe the best way to do it was in the home that we were building together (and when I say "building", I should clarify that I mean that in a figurative and literal sense. We do home projects together and work surprisingly well together, which is another sign that I knew she was the one). So I threw out the idea of a Hallmark proposal and got on board with proposing right inside of our living room. On one Friday, I filled the house with over 200 candles and exactly 2 dozen roses (thanks, Shenandoah), then patiently waited for her to get home from work. When she walked in, I couldn't hold it any longer, I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me. In retrospect, I should have at least given her a chance to see the whole setup.
Part of the realization that I had come to was there was never going to be a perfect time. Life doesn't give us that luxury. However, I couldn't wait a second longer for us to continue our story together. I'm glad I didn't.