Photography by Joseph Abell
We met many years ago when I was in high school and Josh was a retreat leader for the Providence retreat program. We lost touch over the years and met again at a retreat retirement dinner for the long-time program leader. Our first date was the next week and we never looked back.
Our first date was the best one I’ve ever had; I had never felt so comfortable with someone. We spent the whole evening laughing. I remember thinking if it’s always this easy, I could really love this relationship. I hate to be as cliché to say I knew from our first date, but I did. I think at our age and experiences (although he’s a tad older) you know what you want, and when you finally find it, you want to spend as much time as you can with them.
Our engagement day was full of surprises. It was his birthday weekend, and I was throwing a surprise birthday party at our house for him. Unbeknownst to me, he was also planning on our engagement that day. My parents have some property in the knobs with a lake, so he suggested we take our two dogs for a walk in the afternoon and he proposed to me there. We had the birthday dinner and decided to move the party to The Exchange for some after dinner drinks, and he had arranged a few of our friends to surprise me with the engagement. My sister Megan joked that she had too many surprises to keep track of that night and was trying not to accidentally let one slip.
We had a wedding planner in Florida who thankfully did most of the planning for our February wedding. Our travel agent, Lisa with Beach Bum Vacations, was so helpful in planning the logistics. Angie Burke helped us put together our flower arrangements to send to FL, and Johann Pedolzky with Slab made the wooden centerpiece bases. Our wedding day couldn’t have been more perfect. We spent the week in FL with friends and family, and had a pretty laid back day spent at the beach before the wedding. We couldn’t have had better weather, and spent the evening celebrating with friends and family. Our reception in May at my parent’s house in Floyds Knobs couldn’t have been done without our family.
One of my favorite memories is photo bombing Josh’s groomsmen photos. Our photographer, Joseph Abell, was such a good sport about it. I love scuba diving and love sharks. So, I told Joseph I had two really great ideas: first, I had a shark suit I bought online and wanted to sneak in some pictures; and second, I wanted a giant shark Photoshopped into one of our pictures. He made it happen, and they turned out great. I will never forget Josh’s face! We also got 100 percent biodegradable lanterns that we lit at the end of the night that was an unforgettable view.
