Emilie and German met through a mutual friend who insisted that they’d make a great pair. At said friend’s birthday party, Emilie was introduced to German—energetic, funny and an extremely close-talker. Emilie thought they could be good friends. German however, had another mission. After Facebook stalking her for months, Emilie finally agreed to meet up on a “date.” She agreed to go see German’s cousin’s band at S.O.B.s in Manhattan. Secretly she was really excited, but outwardly she wanted to play it cool. Not wanting to go alone, she met some German tourists at a bar and invited them to come as friend-shields.
When they entered the club, Emilie thought German may have stood her up. Not wanting to spoil the good music, she decided to stay and dance. After an hour past, Emilie noticed someone moving towards her. It was German wearing a black leather jacket, orange converse high tops and a cheesy grin. Without missing a beat, they started dancing like they had known each other for years. After the concert ended and they were parting separate ways, German yelled out, “I love you.” Thinking he was insane, Emilie responded, “OK weirdo, get home safe,” and closed his cab door. Four years, lots of dancing, and one very dangerous hike later, Emilie and German are getting married.
Give us the details! When? Where? How?
We have a really amazing group of friends who are all travelers or Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. We all love to hike, be outdoors and read, and last year we put together this “Extreme Bookclub” that combined reading a book and then doing an activity to go with the theme. Based off the book we were reading, Under the Banner of Heaven, (not exactly light reading but a great history of FDLS ) we decided to do a quick trip with 12 people to Zion National Park in Utah. Random, but normal for our friends. We crammed 12 friends into a 12-person passenger van and rode around for three days going on day hikes. On the last day, we hiked Angel’s Landing. A notoriously dangerous hike that has drop off cliffs on both sides as you scramble to the top. You have to ascend by going go single-file, and wait as people pass you going down. It was a pretty exhilarating hike.
When we got to the top, the view was breathtaking and I was just recovering from the fact that I didn’t die. As everyone was taking pictures and grabbing a bite to eat, we all thought my boyfriend was holding back food from us, because he had something hidden in his hand. I even yelled over to him, “Hey, what’s in your hand? You gonna share?” My fiance smiled, then walked over to me, got down on one knee and proposed. I was totally shocked. The whole thing meant so much to me and embodies truly what our relationship is like. I also think it’s pretty funny I thought my engagement ring was food. Just saying….
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
Choosing invitations and picking out the “look and feel” of the wedding. I love designing and putting together creative concepts, so for me, it has been fun and German has enjoyed taking part too.
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
I am a Marketing and Creative Director for ISEP Study Abroad, a company that helps students travel and study abroad, so this is basically my cup of tea. I love planning events and trips. I haven’t really had many planning issues. Our wedding location, The Raliegh Hotel in Miami, was the first place we looked. I also had this one prequisite that I wanted to do a pig roast at my wedding, and hilariously, this hotel does one. So, it was perfect.
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
The whole process is pretty easy, and I like the option of having an app. I am always on my phone, and I find that I would prefer to have my wedding info in a digital format.
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
I would say definitely sync your Facebook and Instagram accounts to collect photos of you that are not professional. Often those tell a better story. Also, I would suggest making the account open for older family members to login more easily.
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy should last forever. What does that mean to you?
Let’s hope you made the right decision! Just kidding! That a wedding is celebrating the joy of two best friends coming together and starting a life as one. That the love and joy we feel now, will continue and deepen the older we get.
