It’s happening!

Hello Dearly Invited, We hope that you all are well and in good health. The past year and a half has been challenging for everyone. Adjusting to our “new normal” has required us to make sometimes drastic but necessary changes to our everyday lifestyle to protect ourselves and those we love. We would like to thank you for being patient with us as a pandemic was NOT on our wedding agenda. Unfortunately, due to the government mandates, we cannot accommodate the original guest list we planned on. The venue has advised that we are only allowed to accommodate those in our immediate family and the bridal party. It saddens us to know that our guest list will be incomplete; our hearts are still full, as your love and support have blessed us! Blessings and good health, Lori & Abel Alegria

Abel and I actually knew each other in high school (hardly). Our best friends dated so mine and Abel’s paths crossed a few times. I remember thinking he was pretty cute- I mean, that HAIR!! Am I right? Lol, jk.- but for real, I thought he was cute. He claims to have had his eye on me as well. Nothing ever came of it until the summer of 2016 when I saw this cute guy on the dating app, Bumble, I swiped right (you know how it goes) and we matched! Oh danggg! I messaged him and was all nonchalant like, “hey, how have you been?” But in reality, I was so excited!

I remember our first date like it was yesterday! On August 19, 2016 we went out to The Foundry for dinner and drinks. Abel walked up with a huge Foundry Beer Mug and I said to him “Oh, you’re actually prepared” and we laughed (phew, broke the ice!). He then went in for a hug, but I wasn’t prepared for that- I’m not a hugger, or well, I wasn’t a hugger at the time. Abel has transformed me since- so it turned into a half one arm hug. There was an awkward few seconds but we persevered! The rest of the date went perfectly. We caught up, talked about everything we could think of, and we laughed (a LOT). I realized that night that this guy was different, we vibed in a way I had never experienced with anyone before. Our date ended just as it started- another awkward half arm hug- but I still couldn’t wait to see him next!

My whole family was coming over for Christmas festivities (my favorite holiday!). I made some sangria and when I came downstairs after getting ready, mom asked me to run to the store for some more wine for the Sangria. Abel had just arrived, so I asked him to come with. We ran to a couple stores, because some were closed due to the holiday. Abel stalled as much as he possibly could. When we finally made it home, with a cheap bottle of wine in hand, Abel turned to me as we came up to the door and said, “I need you to take your jacket off and put it on the stairs when we get inside”. I did just that- we walked down the hallway of my childhood home, where I grew up, where I became the person I am today, where I hold so many memories. Now, I hold my favorite memory of all. My whole family and Abel’s whole family were there and my nieces and nephews were holding up signs that said “Will You Marry Me?”- Abel, the love of my life, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Best. Memory. Ever.

I don’t think that this story needs much background, stupid coronavirus. In mid-March, coronavirus became a thing here in the US, Abel and I still figured our big fun wedding that we’ve been planning for a year and a half was going to go on as normal. April comes around and things were getting worse, the idea of our dream wedding was slipping away. The stress had gotten the best of us, I haven’t cried that much in a long time! We figured things out though. We made the difficult decision to postpone our big party. Although, we’ve waited long enough and decided to do a small ceremony with just our families. Then the restrictions told us just 10 people allowed. IT NEVER ENDS OMG. So, we settled with just our parents being at our small ceremony. We are very excited to still be getting married on our day, June 12, 2020. Although, we were originally very sad that we couldn’t have all of our fun festivities, showers got cancelled, bachelor and bachelorette parties got cancelled. We will still be doing all of those next year before our vow renwal and reception with all of our favorite people! Thank you to everyone for being so understanding during this whole situation, it’s been a frustrating ride to say the least. But we cannot wait to celebrate with you all next year!