The proposal
My husband and I met at the San Jose Airport 6 years ago when we happened to be on the same flight to LAX. We had met once before very briefly (he was my college roommate’s friend), so he wasn’t a complete stranger when I recognized him at the airport. But it was the first time we had an actual conversation. Thanks to Southwest and their no assigned seat policy, we were able to sit next to each other, and the rest was history. Fast forward 6 years later to the proposal…He proposed a week before our scheduled Europe trip, where I was originally expecting him to propose.
On Saturday, October 1st, we had “plans” with my parents to go to a steakhouse for my grandaunt’s birthday party later in the afternoon. That morning around 10 am, we went to go watch a movie, Bridget Jones’s Baby, at the mall by our house. We always watch the first movie of the day since it’s cheaper than matinee, so that was nothing out of the ordinary. After the movie, we went to the airport to get gas for my husband’s car – he has a CNG car so he always get’s gas at the airport – so again, nothing out of the ordinary. After he fills up his tank, we drive off and then he pulls over to this one spot with flowers by the San Jose airport so I can take a picture of him. The backstory for the picture, he’s been telling me the past couple days before that he needed a new Linkedin profile picture (seed well planted). So of course, I get out of the car and start taking pictures of him. A few seconds later he kneels down on one knee, says a few words that I honestly can’t remember because I was in shock, I said yes, and then we were engaged. A few seconds later, our families pop out and that was the second surprise! So I guess we really weren’t going to dinner. Thanks, Mom, good cover-up. We then head home to “grab some food” with our families. After opening the front door to our house, the third surprise happened! All our friends were there and a big celebration was waiting for us. I know I expected the proposal to happen somewhere in Europe, but I’m so happy with how everything turned out. It all came back in full circle, to the first place we met.
Finding the dress
I wanted a look that was a mix of the classic bride, with soft touches and a hint of sexy. My dress shopping experience was fun. I watched too many say yes to the dress episodes, and consider myself a decisive person, so it didn’t take much for me to make a decision. I found “the one” at our second appointment of the day. I did have a top favorite at the first bridal salon, but they did not carry Stella York at that salon, so I wanted to make sure I made it to the second appointment before making my final decision. So glad I did because my dress was everything I could have asked for. And I knew it was the one when everyone in the salon was telling me that was the one. I made a minor tweak to my dress, removing the straps. Making it strapless really brought it home for me.
The wedding details
Our color palette was a mix of dusty rose, champagne, gray, and whites. We had subtle hints of it here and there between our flowers and decor, coupled with a ton of candles, to make a romantic atmosphere. We went with a travel theme – circles back to where we met and was inspired by our love for travel (we travel to at least one new place each year). So all out table names were of places we’ve traveled to and our favors/name cards were luggage tags.
My favorite memory of the day was definitely the ceremony. Walking down the aisle of the church and seeing my husband at the end of the aisle, crying his heart out. It was such a great moment to have all our family and friends all in one place, celebrating our love with us.
