Please enjoy the following his/her stories… we both wrote our renditions of our love story… We are set to get married November 12, 2022 and we both cannot wait. 

 

Chris and I met like every good love story in the 21st century… we both swiped right…

Our first date was March 17, 2017 at Sampan Inn in Havertown… yes we got Chinese food on St. Patrick’s day! 

We had been together for 3 years when we planned a last minute trip in November 2019 for March 2020 to celebrate our first vacation together. 

I had been working for a year as a physical therapist and Chris working nights as an EMT. Our time together was limited and vacations were unheard of due to our opposite schedules. 

For those who know me I was eagerly anticipating Chris’ proposal on a daily basis trying to guess when this would happen… Chris being the kind hearted and well tempered individual kindly asked me to stop anticipating the proposal as he didn’t want me to be disappointed when it didn’t happen in Disney. I was getting my hopes up for “nothing” or so he said. But because I know Chris well, him saying this took me aback because he meant it… it was our first real vacation together and if I was constantly saying to myself “this is it” I would quite simply be disappointed during a trip meant for us to just simply enjoy one another’s company.

March 2020 came and we left for Disney March 1st 2020. I had to work that Sunday so our flight landed late. We woke up the next morning and went to the grocery store just as any couple trying to save money would do and we bought snacks to bring into Disney for the week. We had reservations at the California grill at 6pm but I had no idea what was in store…

We made it to our reservation and the hostess kindly directed us to literally the most perfect table. It was high above and in-front of Disney’s magical castle, a Birdseye view for fireworks. We had a few drinks and some DELICIOUS food. It was also the first night I tried sushi. After dinner, I excused myself to the bathroom and when I came back Chris kept saying “let’s go outside and watch the fireworks”. I reluctantly agreed because to me we had already the best view in the house.

Once outside on the bridge overlooking the castle a lady approached us and asked if she could promote Disney’s California Grill by having us pose for some photos. She took us away from the crowd and started taking pictures as the fireworks went off. At this point my heart was RACING and I couldn’t breathe… I thought “this is it”. To much of my dismay the fireworks completed and nothing happened. I then thought “wow maybe this lady really did just want to use us for marketing”. Odd but okay. 

We head back inside the restaurant past the crowd and I see a silver cover over what looks like to be a dessert plate with confetti… at this point I blacked out… Chris got down on one knee and said “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while… will you Mary me?!?!” He uncovered the plate and written in chocolate with chocolate covered strawberries it read “will you Mary me?”  I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The restaurant became a giant blur and for a moment Chris and I were all that mattered. 

I had always said to Chris that when he did ask I didn’t want to be the cliche woman and cover my face in shock and instead I wanted to do a dance or something cool… but on that night March 2nd 2020 I covered my face in shock and started crying… a trip that wasn’t supposed to be about our engagement quickly became a whole trip celebrating our engagement just the two of us… 

Chris is the absolute love of my life and I cannot wait to marry him… November 12, 2022 WE ARE READY. 

HIS STORY:

We had been dating for three and a half years but it did not take nearly that long for us to know this was it. I spent six months in 2019-2020 and painstakingly designed and had custom made a ring that I wanted desperately to give her. 

She was working full time as a physical therapist in Vineland and I was working nights on the emergency transport team at CHOP. We both worked too many hours to say it lightly. We had never taken a vacation in the three years we had been dating and decided we needed to change that. To Disney World!! I have a long family history with Disney and it's a very special place to me. I wanted to share that love with her. Getting engaged there was definitely NOT the plan. We had even discussed it! But I started thinking, and knew I had a golden opportunity to make it not just special, but perfect.

I began planning. But not one to take the easiest route, I over planned every detail. I managed a reservation at the California Grill overlooking the Magic Kingdom. This restaurant has a rooftop balcony that you walk out onto to watch the nightly fireworks. I hired a photographer who would pretend to be giving us a free photo session for "advertising purposes". The photographer approached us when we walked out onto the terrace and Katie was absolutely caught off guard, but she didn't have a clue yet. We were taken to a more secluded portion of the terrace and during the entirety of the fireworks Katie was shaking like a leaf. She knew. At least she thought she did. Turns out that was not when I wanted to propose. I wanted the lighting to be right. I wanted it to be perfect. 

The fireworks ended and I could tell she was disappointed. She was expecting a proposal at that point. Who wouldn't? Random photographer, Disney, fancy dinner, fireworks?! But that wasn't the plan. We walked back inside and before she could sit down I got down on one knee and asked. I asked my best friend to marry me. 

And wouldn't you know it, she said YES. 

She had told me more times than I could count that I could expect a touchdown style victory dance when I finally asked. Needless to say, she might have been caught off guard. She froze, was speechless, and just kept nodding her head 'yes'. 

That wasn't all. I had matching shirts made for each day for the rest of the trip, a monogrammed gift bag with her favorite candy and balloons, and a bottle of champagne with custom champagne flutes waiting back at the hotel to surprise her further. 

When we returned from our trip, Covid shut the world down. We never celebrated with our families. The opposite in fact. Both of us being in healthcare, we had jobs to do in a time of need. She returned to her job in New Jersey and I traveled to New York City with FEMA to respond to the worst of Covid. 

Our wedding has been a long time coming and we could not be more excited to celebrate with our families. I cannot wait to marry my best friend.

Engagement: 3/2/2020  Wedding: 11/12/2022