"You woke up as my girlfriend,
you’re reading this as my fiancé,
and you’ll go to bed as my wife."
March 13th proved to me that fairy tales do indeed come true.
This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever said (and will continue to say), but Max and I did actually fall in love at first sight. Since the moment I met him, we’ve lived our lives wrapped in magic. Nothing about us is traditional and neither is our wedding story…
LA had been miserable for months. Straight rain and freezing weather; it was unlike any winter we’d ever seen. My morning walks had been PAINFUL (though I persevered). But this Monday, our anniversary, March 13, was not what we had become accustomed to. The clouds made way for a few hours of sunshine.
Max and I had plans to celebrate our anniversary by going on a walk, jumping in the sauna for a quick recovery session, and then going to Pace for one of our favorite meals. All seemingly ordinary activities turned into the extraordinary events to follow.
I had a hunch that Max might propose, but he had something much bigger planned. Despite my aversion to the formalities and customs of traditional weddings, Max had orchestrated a surprise ceremony that surpassed my wildest dreams.
Shortly after we started our walk, we reached the spot where Max originally asked me to be his girlfriend. He started strong with some clearly rehearsed yet heartfelt lines before he then got on a knee and forgot how to speak. It was fine, though, because ring + knee = proposal and I was able to figure out what was happening. I always told him that he could roll over in the morning and ask me to marry him and I’d be the happiest girl in the world. So this worked and I was THRILLED! We took a few pics and I was anxious to get back on our walk. He had something different in mind.
We resumed our walk but were headed in the wrong direction; I was admittedly frustrated and asked a million questions (I needed my evening sun to reset my circadian rhythm, of course). Max was able to evade the questions just as we made it back to the house and the gates opened to reveal the biggest surprise of my life. Both of our families gathered from 9 different states, all dressed to the nines for a wedding. My five-year-old brother came skipping over to us in his blue velvet tux (that he picked out all by himself) and handed me a note from Max that read:
"You woke up as my girlfriend, you’re reading this as my fiancé, and you’ll go to bed as my wife."
At that moment, I was hit by a whirlwind of emotions.
I had no idea how he did it. Family from across the country, even my grandma who has absolutely no business traveling, were all there (shoutout Gunny for driving 12 hours to get her there <3). I hugged everyone, with the craziest happy tears anyone has ever seen.
I then started to notice all of the details. The house was truly dreamy. Every detail was immaculate. The lights, the candles, the greenery. There was a gorgeous table, incredible and carefully chosen flowers, embroidered blankets on every seat. Apps and drinks were flowing. Music was blasting and everyone was enjoying the typical LA weather that we had been missing for months. Oh and we had CUPS!!! I freaked out when I saw the cups with our names on them. Cups?! We’re getting MARRIED!
The celebration began, and I was whisked away to start getting ready. I had 10+ dresses to choose from, a handful of shoes, and all the hair, makeup and jewelry I could ever want.
The ceremony was so overwhelmingly filled with love. Our childhood best friends officiated, our fathers contributed blessings and music, and we were surrounded by the love of our families. We got married, stomped on the glass, did the whole thing!
The evening went on with an incredible dinner, a gorgeous (and half gluten-free!!!) cake, and dancing of course. Easily the best day of my life. Everyone had put their heart and soul into this incredible surprise, and I couldn't have felt more loved. A small but mighty celebration of the best day of our lives.
Words cannot express how grateful I am for the time, energy, and love that each person poured into making our wedding day an absolute dream (I’m looking at you, Amy!). Our parents joyously went along with every crazy idea that Max had.
Our love story continues, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world, blessed with the love of my family, my new family, and the BEST husband in all the land (I’m convinced it’s true). Our surprise wedding will forever remain one of the most magical experiences of our lives. We can’t wait to celebrate with you all!
- SBGK