Kaleigh and Tuan Anh met at church—they were in the same youth group (although Tuan Anh was ahead of Kaleigh by three years). Since the day she met him, Kaleigh had a huge crush on Tuan Anh. He was cute and funny—he always knew how to make her laugh. When he asked Kaleigh on a date a couple years later, she could not believe it! It felt like a daydream. But this was real life, and five years later they are planning their wedding!
Give us the details! When? Where? How?
It was actually the most magical day of my life! And it may have something to do with the fact that it happened in the most magical place on earth! Disney World! Tuan Anh and I have always been huge Disney fans, it’s actually one of the things that we first bonded over. I had been a couple times, but not since I was about eight, and he had never been before. So we decided to plan this big trip to Disney World with his nephew and nephew’s wife! So I took off with it, planning every ride and detail to a T. But little did I know, he had a HUGE plan for me!
He waited until Magic Kingdom to pop the question, and right in front of Cinderella’s Castle! It was a warm night in March in Orlando, Florida. We had just finished watching the amazing Disney’s Electric Parade, and the light/fireworks show behind the Castle had begun. Close to the end of the show, Tuan Anh says he has something for me.
Joy is waking up everyday, thankful for your life, your friends and your loved ones, and making the most out of it no matter what comes your way.
It was this cute little photo album. He had filled it with pictures of us, as well as quotes from some of our favorite Disney movies. I got to the last page, which said, “I just have one question.” And then I hear “Kaleigh…” I look, and he is down on one knee, with the biggest smile on his face, the most gorgeous ring in hand, and he asks me the question that changed my life! And obviously, I said yes!
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
Tuan Anh says the cake tasting at the amazing Special Kneads Bakery in downtown Lawrenceville. For me, I would say my favorite experience was when we toured our venue, and I just got this feeling in my heart like “OMG. This place was made for us.” It has the perfect blend of natural elements which he loves, and the old, historic antique things that I love.
Michelle Anderson
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
We just remind ourselves often what the purpose of all this really is, and its us! Our wedding is all about celebrating us, the love we have for each other, and starting our lives together! So we always make sure to keep our eyes on the prize. And if all the planning gets a little too stressful, we take a step back, and go do something fun together—basically go on a little date—to remind ourselves what it’s all about!
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
We love that this site blends together a lot of the things we were looking for, and does it so beautifully. We wanted a site that would be easy to use, super functional, as well as beautiful! We also like the app! So our guests can actually download the app, and have our wedding right at their fingertips (should they want to)!
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Not to sound so repetitive, but definitely use that RSVP feature! It is great because you can also use it to help fill in the blanks for other parts of your wedding! For example, we needed help to build the perfect reception playlist, so we decided to ask our guests for their input! We added a question about what song the guest would dance to, and were able to get a lot of good suggestions based on that. Other good questions to ask might be whether the guest would need hotel accommodations or not. That way, rather than estimating, you know exactly how many rooms to block out!
Michelle Anderson
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you?
Joy is extreme bliss, or happiness! It is that giddy feeling you get that starts in the depths of your stomach and just makes its way up! Joy is waking up everyday, thankful for your life, your friends and your loved ones, and making the most out of it no matter what comes your way—and this lasts for as long as you do. And as long as you stay true to yourself everyday, you can always have that joy!
Michelle Anderson
