Larizza and Rafael met in May of 2008, when Larizza and her girlfriends went to a local bar for a birthday party. A few mutual friends joined the party, Raf included. Raf and Larizza talked all night. The night got chilly, so Raf, ever the gentleman, offered Larizza his sweater. As the night ended, it was time to part ways. Raf said to Larizza, “Why don’t you give me your number so I can call you to get my sweater back?” Larizza decided to give his sweater back right then and there, but weeks went by and she couldn’t get her mind off her time with Raf. Why didn’t she give him her number? Thank goodness for Facebook! The two connected online and here they are, eight years and the most magical Disneyworld proposal later!
Give us all the details! When? Where? How?
Raf, his family, and I went on a trip to Orlando, Florida. Since we had been to Disneyworld and Universal Studios just last year, I felt I needed to be the tour guide for the family. Throughout the trip, Raf’s mom made sure that we took pictures at every spot that had the park’s photographers.
The day we went to Magic Kingdom, I told the family, “We should take pictures in front of the castle before it gets dark.” So I start leading the family to the castle (meanwhile Raf and his family scrambled to get Raf ready for his moment). When we got there, Raf’s mom noticed that there was no park photographer around, so she set out to find one. We preceded to take pictures in front of the castle. When Raf’s mom brought over the park photographer, I volunteered to take solo pictures first.
While I posed, Raf got the ring ready. When we decide to take pictures as a couple in front of the castle, Raf slowly walks up to me and said,”I want to tell you something first. This isn’t just a family vacation.” At this point I basically blackout. Raf gets down on one knee and pulls out the engagement ring. I’m totally speechless and eventually manage to say, “Yes, yes, of course!”
The year before, Larizza and Raf went to Magic Kingdom and Larizza found Cinderella’s well. Larizza wished at Cinderella’s well that Raf would propose to her at the castle. One year later and we got to celebrate where dreams really do come true.
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
Larizza’s favourite part was dress shopping of course! Rafael’s favourite part is planning the bachelor party of course!
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
Every time we check a task off from our wedding planning checklist, we take a wedding planning break. We spend a couple days not planning for the wedding or talking about the wedding. We take a day to hang out in our onesies and have a couple drinks and watch a couple episodes of a TV series.
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
We love how user-friendly Joy is. It has a modern look to it that fits our wedding theme. It is also user friendly for our guests to use and the app is perfect for all our mobile users.
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Use all the pages that Joy provides for you. It is a perfect one stop spot for you and all your guests. Provide all information needed for your big day!
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy should last forever. What does that mean to you?
The joy, love, and happiness that led us to our wedding day should lead us every day for the rest of our lives.
