Give us the proposal details! When? Where? How?
He proposed to me in Tobago after one of the longest days of my life. I had been on a grad school trip in Guyana for 10 days prior to meeting him in Trinidad for vacation. Two days before I was going to meet him, I fell while hiking and hurt my wrist. At the time I didn’t know if I had broken it or just sprained it badly. The medical care in Guyana is very limited so I knew I was going to need to have it looked at when I arrived in Trinidad. I flew out of Guyana at 7:30 in the morning, Matt met me at the airport in Trinidad, and we immediately got in a cab to a hospital where X-rays confirmed that my wrist was indeed broken. Later that afternoon, Matt and I boarded a ferry to take us from Trinidad to Tobago. The flight between the two islands takes about half an hour but the ferry took 4.5 hours in very rough seas. We arrived in Tobago at 8:30pm and had to take a cab to the other side of the island… an hour-long drive. By the time we got checked in to our hotel, it was 10:30 and I was exhausted! But our room was right on the beach and I decided I needed to go put my feet in the water. He followed me down to the water after a minute and said, “I can’t wait any longer”. I was so tired and confused that I was thinking, “Can’t wait any longer to get in the water? To go to bed?”. But then, he got down on one knee and told me that he’d been waiting almost a year to propose to me and was waiting anxiously all day long. He said he knew I was exhausted and it wasn’t the most romantic setting, but he just couldn’t wait any longer. It actually ended up being perfect and, somehow, I found the energy to go get a celebratory drink afterward! Oh, also, luckily I broke my right wrist so I didn’t have a cast on my left hand!
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
Seeing all of my ideas come together!
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
I’m working full time and entering the final semester of my grad school program, so life is really crazy. Matt helps keep me sane by helping out with whatever I ask for and making me comfort food when I’m super stressed. I also make sure that I prioritize finding time for us to do normal things like curling up on the couch to watch a favorite show. Also, cuddling the fur babies always helps!
Tara Smith, The Light Co.
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
It’s such a beautiful format, we’ve gotten so many compliments on our Joy website!
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Play around with every option and section!
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you?
Even though the little details may fade over time, you’ll always remember the feelings you had on your wedding day. I believe in the power of sense memory, how something small can trigger intense feelings related to a memory. Years down the road I imagine I’ll hear a specific song, see flowers that remind me of my bouquet or eat an ice cream sandwich and be hit with a wave of joy from the sense memory of our wedding.
