Wedding Celebration!

On a random Friday in September 2022, at the Penn Harris Hotel, in Camp Hill Pennsylvania. Amelia and Anthony had caught each other's attention, though no communication was shared that day. The following day, thanks to nerves and mutual friends, Anthony and Amelia were introduced. Almost immediately the first messages were sent. Within days their "modern day love letters" began. They coined this term because of the length of text messages being sent, from states away from each other. Multiple paragraphs of information, on numerous different topics all in one message. Basically essays about their lives, being sent constantly. Before long plans were being made to go on a 100 hour road trip. From Ohio to Missouri and back. Amelia’s “Interview.” Which she aced. Even before the ‘and back’ could happen, the couple was official, and there still had not even been a first date! The rest has been history, hardly an hour has passed where these two are not together. And after the wedding, that will be, how it will always be!

I had been holding onto Amelia’s engagement ring for a few months, just waiting for the perfect opportunity. When we booked a trip to Hawaii around Christmastime—her favorite time of year—I thought, this might be it. We booked a private picnic with a Hawaiian fire dancer and I thought that would be the perfect opportunity, but inclement weather forced us to cancel. So the wait continued, but with only two days left in our trip, I was running out of time. That’s when I discovered a private Road to Hana tour through Airbnb Experiences, led by a local guide and photographer named Ty. It seemed perfect, just the two of us, a ten-hour tour of one of the most stunning places on Earth, while stopping at hidden waterfalls only locals knew about. Ty and I planned everything in secret: the first private waterfall stop would be the moment, and the rest of the day would be filled with a surprise engagement shoot. To get to the private waterfall we were going to have to cross a stream. But on the day of the tour, the weather had more surprises in store for us. The “stream” we were supposed to cross was too dangerous due to all the rain. I wouldn’t be able to propose yet. Uh oh… Then the same thing happened with the second waterfall we were going to visit. My plan was quickly unraveling, but we didn’t mind. We were already having an amazing day, just enjoying the adventure and each other. We hiked through rain, escaped sudden downpours by hiding behind giant rocks, ditched my boots after they got soaked, and we even had to eat lunch in a cave when the weather got intense. We played on beaches with every shade of sand, admired vibrant tropical flowers, and (accidentally) swam near Portuguese Man o’ War. It wasn’t the day we planned, but usually the best moments are the unscripted ones, the unexpected ones and it was better than anything we could have imagined.

Finally, after hours of exploring, and another short hike, we made it to the last stop of the day: a private waterfall, just before sunset. As Ty got her camera ready, she realized the memory card was full, and her spare was back in the car. So off she ran, in flip flops, leaving us alone in one of the most beautiful places we had ever seen. While we waited, we reflected on what a special trip to Hawaii, and wonderful day it had been, imperfect in all the best ways. Perfectly Imperfect. After ten minutes passed, we started to worry that she may have slipped and fell in the woods, but just as we were about to go check on her, Ty returned. She posed Amelia facing the waterfall. I got the signal. It was time. I took the ring out of my pocket and got down on one knee. Amelia turned around and for a second thought I was just tying my shoe… until she remembered I was wearing flip flops. Then she saw the ring. And just like that, Amelia turned into what I’ve only ever been able to describe as, a Mexican jumping bean. The proposal went something like this: Amelia: YES YES YES YES YES… (Yelling repeatedly, bouncing up and down uncontrollably) Anthony: (After like a minute of Amelia’s jumping) I DIDN’T EVEN GET TO SAY ANYTHING! Amelia: IT DOESN’T MATTER ITS A YES! But what were you going to say?!?!? Anthony: Well I don’t remember now! Probably something like, I love you more than anything and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me? Amelia: YES OF COURSE!!! We hugged, laughed, and joked about how the whole day Amelia secretly thought it seemed like we were taking engagement photos. We walked back to the car under the near darkness, just so happy. Ty apologized that the day hadn’t gone according to plan, but I told her there is no need to apologize and also said: “Today was the perfect metaphor for our life together. Everything isn’t always going to go according to plan and it certainly isn’t always going to be easy. But at the end of the day, Amelia and I will always be together and that is all that matters.” We had less than two hours before our flight, an hour drive and we still had to pick up our suitcases. On the way, the airline even called to make sure we were coming. We just barely made it onto the plane (literally the last ones to board). The doors even closed before we were seated. As we walked on, the flight attendant asked how we were doing. Amelia, still in ecstasy, happily yelled, “WE JUST GOT ENGAGED!” The whole crew celebrated with us… before we promptly passed out from exhaustion. We woke up on final approach—engaged, in love, and ready for our forever!