Gabi and Nathan met on Tinder, but there are two stories: the short one (they both swiped right), and the long one (Nathan is hyper-competitive and was bet that he could not get as many matches as his friend on Tinder).
I’ve always said that Nathan can keep me smiling even when I don’t want to, and I think that’s what you want in your partner forever.
Gabi was on Tinder mostly to play drinking games with friends, but she also chatted with a few potentials. They matched one day and Nathan asked if the fanny pack in one of Gabi’s pictures was a full-time thing. Considering this was the best opening line she had heard so far, she took the bait. The rest is history.
How long have you been together?
3 wonderful years!
Give us the proposal details! When? Where? How?
I’ll let Nathan tell the story since it’s all a blur for me.
I had bought Gabi’s ring shortly after Thanksgiving with the intention of proposing to her pretty much the first good chance I got. Because of her school schedule and workload, the first opportunity didn’t present itself until Christmas break. I was going to propose at the top of the Ferris wheel at our favorite Christmas festival, but due to unforeseen circumstances I had to postpone it.
Delays kept occurring until I finally got fed up one day while I was out of town for work and resolved to surprise her on the day I got back. I told her that I had to go straight to the office after my morning flight back, when in reality I had taken the day off. One of her favorite TV shows is Friends and she occasionally draws comparisons between the two of us and Chandler and Monica, so I decided to use my small window of opportunity to pull a reverse Monica on her.
I decorated the front room of our house with a ton of candles and rose petals and came up with some horrible excuse for her to make sure to let me know when she was leaving school for the day. She arrived in her gym clothes and was immediately caught off guard. I got down on one knee, to which she responded “where is your car?” Once the shock wore off she said “yes” and we celebrated with a nice dinner!
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
I am an organization freak so being able to use a wedding binder has me over the moon! I love to color coordinate and this has been a fun task that also keeps all the wedding stuff neat and in one place. I know Nathan is looking forward to doing a cake tasting though!
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
We’ve been really good about eating healthy and regularly working out. We also have an adorable dog and she keeps us smiling even on our most stressful days!
Avery Leigh Photography
How did you hear about Joy?
I did some researching on wedding websites. I’d heard of other ones but they never seemed to fit in with the way I think. As soon as I looked at Joy’s sample wedding website, I knew it was perfect for us to use!
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
I love how customizable it is! It’s fun to play around with the different pages and see how they fit in with our website. It also has everything you could possibly need so I’m never worried that guests will keep asking me for details.
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Definitely explore all the different options that are offered. The template questions in the FAQ had some that I never even thought to add but was pretty useful, so I’m glad Joy was prepared!
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you?
Especially for me and Nathan, happiness is at the core of us as a couple. Relationships are hard work that require time and effort, but what is all of that for if there is no joy as well? I’ve always said that Nathan can keep me smiling even when I don’t want to, and I think that’s what you want in your partner forever.
Avery Leigh Photography
