Let the Celebration Begin

1 King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32080 Arrive by 4:00pm. Ceremony begins at 4:15pm. Shuttle from hotel.

1 King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32080 Black-Tie Optional: Wear floor-length gowns or formal cocktail dresses, tuxes with black neckties or bowties or suit with jacket and tie. Tuxes and gowns are preferred, but not required. Cocktail hour to start at 5:00pm. Followed by dinner and dancing until 10:00pm. Please note that this is an adults-only celebration.

John and Sonya met in Gainesville, Florida. Sonya had just moved to Gainesville for work and was looking to join a soccer team. Sonya signed up for the local the soccer league and that is where John found Sonya's email and proceeded to invite her to a try-out for his team. Sonya made the team! Since Sonya was new to town, John invited her to watch a Gator's volleyball game with some of his friends. Between soccer practice and socializing, the two starting spending a lot of time together. The rest is history!

John and Sonya took a family vacation to South Africa in March, 2022. Sonya had suspicions that John would propose on this trip. During the car ride to the airport those suspicions were confirmed when John texted his mom "do you have the ring?" and her car read the message out loud! Throughout the trip there were many opportunities Sonya thought John would propose. They had a welcome party (Braii) with family and friends, a day trip to Table Mountain in Cape Town, beautiful tours of Vineyards, a river-front stay in a Safari Camp at Kruger National Park, game drives into the park, etc. No proposal. On March 15, John, Sonya, and some family members drove to Gansbaai to go shark cage diving. After an amazing but freezing swim with some Bronze Whaler/Copper Sharks, the crew took the scenic route back Cape Town. On a whim, they decided to stop at the Cape of Good Hope. The nature preserve/park was closing at 6pm. The group arrived just after 4pm and figured they could walk quickly and complete the hike up to the lighthouse. Out of breath, the group made it to the light house and starting taking in the views while waiting for their turn for photos. The group of people that took photos before them were starting to clear out when a man got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend! John, Sonya, and family congratulated the couple and then took their photos. They walked down to a more scenic outlook with a view of the water. The same group of people, who just had a proposal, came and stood in front of John and Sonya as they were trying to take a photo. So they moved down to the next smaller lookout and finally got some pictures! As John and Sonya finished taking photos, John pulled Sonya back, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. Immediately crying, Sonya said yes!