Brian and Giovanni met on a dating website back in March of 2008 (that’s nine years!). Today is their wedding day. The entire team sends love (and joy), and we thought it’d be special to share their proposal story today!
Give us the details! When? Where? How?
Brian and I were preparing to go on vacation to Paris in March of 2016. I had never been to Paris and we were both extremely excited about our vacation plans, which also included a Viking River Cruise through the Danube (coined the Romantic Danube). I had the suspicion that we were going to come back engaged by the end of the trip.
Joy captures the essence of what it means to bring people together for a special occasion.
So, the weekend prior to our trip, Brian and I were running errands and he decided to grab coffee at a local Starbucks we used to frequent. As we are waiting for our order, the barista proceeds to give Brian a sparkling Grande size cup—and I thought, Oh wow, Brian, you won something! (Thinking he got a special cup because he had reached a milestone on his rewards card or something silly like that.) Then he preceded to hand me the cup and I suddenly realized I didn’t know what was about to happen or what was happening.
He had taken me to the Starbucks we first met at when we started to date. He said, “I know you thought we were going to get engaged in Paris, but I thought I would surprise you and bring you were it all began to ask you to marry me.” He then proceeded to kneel in front of everyone at the store. Everyone was cheering and clapping. I was in shocked and so happy and impressed at how thoughtful he had been. Little did I know our friends were hiding in the hall recording it all and taking photos. Needless to say, our proposal was unique, special, and unforgettable.
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
My favorite experience planning the wedding has been finding unique ways to honor guests, friends, and family members traveling and attending our ceremony. One of the special things I’ve done is that behind each place card, I have included a quote from an author, poet, movie, song, or book that is unique to the personality and taste of each guest.
I know it’s an insignificant thing compared to everything else that is being planned for the wedding, but to me it’s the most personal and that is why it is my favorite experience so far. I have spent countless hours handpicking each quote for close to 100 guests. It helps that our theme is the Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald has some great material to choose from.
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
I try to step away after I start feeling overwhelmed. I have music playing in the background while I’m doing the planning and it helps me relax and enjoy it all even more.
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
My favorite part has been to be able to keep track of our RSVPs and guests electronically. However, I also have enjoyed designing the personalized website and App tremendously.
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Take advantage of all the available features and customize Joy to best fit your needs. Joy is very user friendly and can deliver a stunning looking site your guests will remember after the wedding.
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy should last forever. What does that mean to you?
I agree, I believe that Joy captures the essence of what it means to bring people together for a special occasion like a wedding ceremony. I will enjoy having access to the site for months to come after the wedding. I can’t wait to see how our guests interact with the App during our special day (taking photos and posting comments) and look forward to reliving it over and over again.
