Whoever said you can’t find true love on Tinder hasn’t met Jennifer and Bradford. After they swiped right, Brad asked Jennifer if he could call her. Their first phone call lasted over four hours, and they both knew this could be something special. This was back in June 2015—now they’re planning their wedding. Take that, Tinder skeptics! We asked Jennifer to tell us about the proposal, the best parts of planning, and how compromise is the key to ward off wedding planning stress.
Give us the details! When? Where? How?
On July 21, 2016, I was finishing up a normal day at work in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania. I had plans to meet a close friend of mine at happy hour right after the day ended at 5pm in University City. We met and walked to the bar, ordered drinks, and sat down. After talking for ten minutes or so, I looked up and saw Bradford walking into the bar dressed in a suit and tie, wearing his Purple Heart lapel pin, carrying a huge bouquet of flowers. He came over to our table and asked if I would leave with him.
At first, I hesitated (we just ordered drinks!) but then my friend told me she was in on it the whole time! Brad and I left and he walked me to the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk to the exact bench where we sat together during our first date. He proposed at the bench with the most beautiful custom engagement ring that he designed with the help of my best friend.
After we freaked out and cried and laughed and kissed, we walked back to our car where I had phone messages waiting from my best friends and my family. Before proposing, Brad asked my mom, grandmom, and siblings for permission, and told all of my friends. I was the last one in on the surprise! We drove home to our apartment and when we got there, my best friend and her now-husband were waiting with balloons and champagne, and we had a huge celebration. It was one of the best days of my life.
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
We are getting married two hours away from home, right next to a lake in Pine Grove, PA. Our favorite part has been traveling to and from Pine Grove and exploring the venue, trying delicious food, and spending time together.
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
No crazy stress for us yet! I plan events and projects at work so I’ve tackled our wedding bit by bit. We have a wedding notebook and monthly to-do lists. We also had open conversations at the start of wedding planning about each of our expectations. That has helped when it comes down to making decisions. The bottom line—be prepared to compromise!
Todd G Photography, toddg.net
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
I really like how easy it was to design a website that was specific to us. It was user-friendly and I was able to incorporate everything I need to replace a “travel memo” card in the wedding invitation with a link!
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Start your website as soon as you can, and continuously test it out and add new features before launching it to the public. You can easily add a section or delete a section to make it really customized to your day.
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy should last forever. What does that mean to you?
For us, the wedding is the formal celebration but our lives together began when we committed to each other by getting engaged. We are already on our journey and our goal is to fill every day before, during, and after the wedding with joy and love.
