Today is a good day, friends. Why? Because we’re starting it off with this ridiculously stunning engagement session by Simply Sarah Photography. And the couple’s love and proposal story? Just as good as the pictures, so be sure to read the bride’s words below! We guarantee this gallery will leave you wanting more…and you’re in luck. We’ve got their wedding day at at Villa Cimbrone, planned by Exclusive Italy Weddings, coming up later this afternoon. Stay tuned!
From the Bride… We met on a dating app called Bumble. A friend had been bugging me to try online dating, and I kept refusing until one day she showed up on my doorstep and created a profile for me. She chose the pictures, selected the features that would help me find the perfect guy I was looking for, and asked me to trust her that it would be fun. She was right! After a week of swiping left and right and two failed dates, I matched with a guy named “Thad.” We started chatting right away. I remember asking him what his full name was since I hadn’t ever met a “Thad.” To my surprise, he said “Thad” was an alias for “Theodore” and most people called him “Ted” or “Teddy,” but that I could call him whatever I preferred. I preferred neither and told him that if his name was Theodore, he could only be “Theo” or “Dore.” Ultimately, I went with “Theo.” This is why my entire family now calls him “Theo” and his entire family calls him “Ted.”
After chatting for a few days, he asked for my number. He said he was in New York visiting family but hoped to take me out on a date when he returned. Admittedly, I was skeptical. I had already been on two failed dates, and since he didn’t have social media, I couldn’t stalk this “Theo” character. But we kept talking, and talking, and talking. Nonstop. And the conversation was so good that I eventually said yes to the date. I just had to meet him! Theo and I met at a local bar called Wine Belly. We arrived at the same time, and to my immediate relief, I saw that he really was the very handsome guy in the pictures. It was a beautiful winter evening in Texas, so we sat on the back patio. He let me pick the wine because he said he only knew of two kinds, red and white, which I found amusing as an aspiring sommelier. We then moved onto the food menu. We decided to order a few items to share, but I was shocked to learn that he was lactose intolerant. At first, I thought that might be a deal breaker, since I am such a dairy lover. But when he suggested I get the cheese plate all for myself, it hit me – this might be true love if I never had to share a morsel of cheese! We had a blast laughing and telling stories for over three hours, and the evening passed in the blink of an eye. He drove me home. But when we opened the front door and stepped inside, my Siberian husky walked right in between us and stared up at him as if to say, it’s time to go. Not wanting to cross my rather intimidating dog, Theo said goodnight and left.
We went on two more dates the following week, and I was falling for him pretty quickly. But then came Valentine’s Day, my least favorite holiday. I told him not to plan anything. However, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He bought me the most beautiful flowers and card, which he tried to get in Spanish because I’m Mexican, but it turned out saying, “Hope you get better soon,” because he asked a store clerk to translate the cards. I thought it was so funny and adorable.
A few wonderful months went by, and I still had not introduced him to family. I wanted to make sure that the next guy I brought home was the real deal and hopefully my future husband. Finally, I introduced him to my mom when she came to Austin to visit. He was so nervous, but it could not have gone better. Not too long afterwards, I met his mom on her next visit from New York. I was very nervous to meet her, but we had a wonderful weekend together and even took an excursion to the wineries. After that I knew I could introduce him to my family, and when they met him, they loved him.
As the months went by, he won me over more and more with his thoughtfulness and affection. For example, he always showed up at my house at the same time on Wednesdays for our date night. Every week he would surprise me by orchestrating elaborate dates and keep me in the dark until we arrived at our destination. It was so much fun! Fast forward to five months of dating. One night I had a dream that I was going to marry this man, and I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote down the vows that I had said to him during the wedding in my dream. I read them the next morning, and they were pretty silly. Nonetheless, I realized that I had fallen deeply in love and wanted to marry him one day. That is when the waiting game began. In what felt like a few moments, our one-year dating anniversary arrived, and we had already talked about wanting to get married. However, the anniversary came and went, and no proposal was in sight!
A month later, Theo and I went on a vacation to Iceland with my family. On the third day of our vacation, March 27th, we went on a tour to look at waterfalls that culminated in snowmobiling up a glacier. It was a magical day. We migrated up the glacier to a cave which we toured with a guide. It was a very romantic place, and there was even a wedding chapel inside with benches. As we were gearing up to leave, we stood in front of a radiant wall with color changing lights. He said, “Let’s take a selfie!” Those words were music to my ears since I never turn down a good selfie. We took two pictures but the lighting was terrible so we gave up. But as I was putting my phone away, he grabbed my hand, turned me to face him, and got on one knee. He asked me to marry him, and I just nodded my head because I was so in shock I couldn’t speak. It was so unexpected, especially inside a glacier! We celebrated on the mountain. He had apparently been lugging a champagne bottle all day in a backpack with the help of my family, and he kept the ring hidden in his snow pants so I couldn’t find it. The day was such a fairytale and got even better when a surprise solar storm that night that allowed us to see the Northern Lights in all their splendor. We couldn’t have asked for a better day!
Photography: Elizabeth Lanier Photography | Dress: Milly | Hair + Makeup: Lara Navarrini | Venue: Villa Cimbrone | Film Processing: PhotoVision Prints | Planning: Exclusive Italy Weddings