How we met
Until the fourth of July three years ago, Toma and I had never met despite knowing the same people and going to the same places. One night I was hanging out and talking with one of Toma's friends when he came up and asked me to dance. For the rest of the evening we spent time together, and when it was time to leave he was a gentleman and offered to walk me back to my friend's house. Once we got there we stood outside and talked some more. I remember thinking he had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.
When Toma called me for our first date he left a message on my answering machine with the wrong number to call him back. Thankfully he realized this and called me right back and left another message explaining what had happened. He was so embarrassed when he picked me up to go hiking which I thought it was very funny. When we got to the hiking area I picked a trail not realizing the one I had just picked was the path to the nude beach! The look on my face, Toma said, was
priceless. That day we both walked away knowing we enjoyed each others company and Toma thought I was one of the easiest people to talk with. Little did we know what fate had in store for us.
When we both knew we where in love it was the night of the last Phish concert. I had volunteered to work on the airstrip selling ice and told Toma to come and see me. This may seem like an easy task but there was 70,000 plus people there. Toma looked for hours and was about to give up when he stumbled upon our friends who knew just where to find me. He came riding up on his four wheeler like a knight in shining armor. That night I told him he had my heart and what he chose to do with it was up to him!
How we got engaged Toma and I kept hearing from all our friends and family "When are you two going to get married"? Toma would always smile and say 'whenever she asks me.' I decided that was exactly what I was going to do, and little did Toma know what I was planning...
We went out for a romantic dinner one year after meeting each other, and while we where gone my sister and girlfriends came to our house and took some little "glow in the dark" toy stars and wrote "Marry me?" On the ceiling. When we laid down that night in bed the stars shined bright the question I wanted to ask. Toma said 'what's that on the ceiling?' I asked him "Will you Marry me?" And he laughed. He stopped laughing when I pulled out a titanium band and said I was very serious. He said yes. Both of us knew without a doubt we were meant for each other. Getting married seemed easy compared to some of the other things we have done together: we renovated a house, built our own house and restored a condo together. Also, we competed against each other in a Triathlon and ran the Burlington Marathon together for the first time.
Most Memorable Details There were so many amazing moments on our wedding day, but three stand out the most for us. The moment I was to walk down the aisle a huge storm broke with high winds and rain. We had to postpone the wedding for a bit since we where being married outside. Within 20 minutes the storm passed and we proceeded with the wedding with thunder and lightning playing out behind us. When my brothers were walking me down the isle an aging golden retriever decided to walk down in front of me and sit and watch the whole ceremony. Toma and I both feel these where signs from our fathers letting us know they were there for our special day. The most amazing moment of the entire day was standing in front of our friends and family and expressing the way we felt about each other from the special words we had written down for ourselves.
At the end of our wedding night our friends had brought in a huge RV for us to sleep in, right next to the reception site so we didn't have to worry about anything. We decided to take a blanket and sit out on the lawn underneath the moon and stars and read all the wishes our guests had written for us and reminisce about our day until 4 a.m. in the morning.
Planning Advice to Future Brides and Grooms Keep a smile on your face and try not to lose it under pressure. I found the whole wedding day to be very overwhelming, and it went by so fast - so remember to ENJOY IT! Don't let others tell you want you should have for a wedding or reception. Do what you both think works for the two of you because no matter what happens, the way you feel about one another is what matters the most. From a groom's point of view, Toma wants guys to realize it's more work than you realize and to get involved as much as you can.
