We love stories. Every couple has one. One of our favorite parts about being wedding photographers is meeting with newly engaged couples for the first time and hearing theirs. The newness of it. The freshness of it. The excitement of it. We can’t get enough of it! But, at the end, our couples always ask, “What about you?” So, we decided to share our story, too. From the high school bleachers to the end of the aisle, here’s our story from “I noticed you” to “I do.”
Part 1: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
Part 2: You + Me = Us
Part 3: Friday Night Lights
Part 4: The Little Black Dress
Part 5: The First Kiss
Part 6: The First “I Love You”
Part 7: Senior Prom
Part 8: Graduation Night
Part 9: Saying Goodbye
Part 10: College Days
Part 11: She Said Yes!
Part 12: Our Wedding Day
Horse-drawn carriages clip-clopped over cobblestone roads, and rusty old cars beeped in traffic. The smell of street vendors filled the air and tantalized the senses. Hot meat. Fresh tortillas. Homemade salsa. Men peddled their bikes to work. Women carried baskets to the market. Children in uniforms giggled on their way to school. And the towering cathedral in the central square witnessed it all, just another day in Guatemala, for everyone except Jordan. His bags were packed in the back of a tinted-windowed, unmarked van, headed for the airport. He was supposed to be on the last week of a study abroad. He was supposed to be in the jungle exploring Mayan ruins. He was supposed to be out of cell phone reception for 48 hours. He was supposed to be, but he wasn’t. He lied. For the first time in their relationship, he lied. He wasn’t where he was supposed to be. He wasn’t doing what he was supposed to be doing. He was traveling 2,308 miles across international borders to surprise her with an engagement ring. His plane landed in Phoenix well past midnight, and he woke up the next day excited for his future to begin.
She threw her arms around him, clutched his neck tight, and cried. The six weeks apart had been harder on her than him, because it brought back the memories of the past. The times when she was alone when he was away at college. The times when she passed familiar places and thought of him, all constant reminders that he was everywhere except where he should’ve been – with her. Sniffles and tears soaked his shirt collar as she whispered bits of phrases into his ear. “I-c-can’t-believe-you’re-here! I-I-didn’t-w-wash-my-hair! I-I-thought you w-wouldn’t be here for days! But… how-did-you… I-don’t-under-stand…” She stepped back and grabbed his face. “You’re-you’re-s-so-skinny!” Jordan sat her down on the bed and explained – everything. The fake jungle plans. The secret plane flight. The flowers, candles, and decorations. She was shocked. Still stunned. So happy to have him home. But the surprise wasn’t over. He had brought her a gift, a handmade, Guatemalan handbag. She smiled, thanked him, and hugged him again. She had no idea that it was something more, something bigger, something forever, inside the bag. He told her to open the bag, and to make sure to dig down to the bottom. As she looked down to open it, he snuck down on his knee. She gasped. The bag was full of little pink love notes that she had written to him over the years. He had saved every. single. one. Her heart stopped. Buried at the bottom of all of the love notes, she discovered a ring box. She looked up to find him on his knee with a ring in his hand, and at that moment, he asked her to make him the happiest man in the world. Her heart pounded, her eyes filled, and she was so shocked, she barely heard a word he said. Through thick tears and a cupped mouth, she got out a “Yes!” and as he put the ring on her finger, she realized there was still an empty ring box in her right hand. She opened the box, to find one more love note. This time, it was written by him: “Love is friendship set on fire.”
To keep reading, click here: Part 12: Our Wedding Day