The Greatest Adventure Begins

Weona Park - Large Pavilion 1026 Blue Valley Drive, Pen Argyl, PA 18072 This event is casual/dressy casual. Make sure to leave the stilettos at home if you plan to play any sports!

Natashia: It was late 2020, just about to turn the calendar over into January 2021, when I was about to give up on the dating and relationship thing. I'd been single for nearly two years and had decided to start dipping my toes in the dating pool again, though was steadily regretting that decision. The dating apps I frequented had me caught in an unfortunate cycle of being bored, disappointed, or outright disgusted by the people showing interest in me. After the misfortunes and painful lessons of my last relationship, I knew exactly what I wanted, and a dullard with only one thought on their mind wasn't it. I was about to delete all the BS off my phone and spare myself from dealing with the onslaught of nasties when I happened to see I'd matched with someone that seemed to finally break that cycle, and genuinely piqued my interest. He was handsome, actually had something coherent (and dare I say clever) written in his profile, and wasn't at all like the other guys that had been reaching out to me. I couldn't stand how they seemed incapable of having an intellectual conversation, or only wanted to talk about themselves. This fella was different. One that had actually taken the time to read my novel-length wall of text about myself (which turned out to be a great filter for me to figure out who was paying attention and who was just throwing an empty message at a pretty face). I wasn't interested in someone that didn't give enough of a shit to read what I had to say, and right from the start, this guy impressed me with how much he showed interest in me. He asked about my interests with real curiosity, and talked to me about things that mattered. That guy was Steven, and our spark was immediate. We started texting daily, and we talked about everything; our conversations were like fireworks, and we'd follow the little embers into brand new questions and ideas for each other to explore together. It'd only been about a month of pure text chats when he messaged me asking to meet up for Valentine's Day dinner. Believe it or not, I was so nervous I almost said no. Thank God the brave, hopeful part of my brain told me to take a leap of faith and meet him, because it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. There was a bit of travel distance between us at the time, but he agreed to trek up to the Poconos to meet me. We met up at my favorite local Polish restaurant, and we were so enthralled, we sat down, started talking, and didn't remember there was a menu to look at until the waitress came by to remind us. After that, we immediately knew that something special was happening. We talked on the phone every evening of every day, discussing each other's work days and talking about anything, enjoying the sound of each other's voices. We even met up to spend time with each other literally every weekend except one, where illness made us think better of roadtripping around. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is! We've been together a little over five years now, and I'm so excited for our next chapter~

Steve: You’re never supposed to hide anything from your spouse, but on this particular day I had to. We were both in the car together, driving to Maine and chatting about the views and towns and stops on the way. Except, I couldn’t keep my mind on this task. The package tucked away in the inconspicuous side pocket of my orange hiking pack kept my attention preoccupied. It was the culmination of months of sneaking around behind her back, something that felt wholly unnatural to do to someone you’ve decided to give your life to, and yet completely necessary. And it was about to change our lives. ​The brown wooden box in that pocket contained the engagement ring I picked out months prior, after stealthily commandeering one of her other rings to get size off of. It was an unadorned ring: just a single, small diamond set in a thin band of white gold with rose gold accents that met to form a heart on the interior. A solitaire, something popular from a bygone era that represented simplicity, fidelity, and plainness. I felt that it perfectly summed up our relationship, stripping away the extravagance of the modern world to leave the essence of the thing whole. ​That is when I knew that I would ask Natashia to marry me, when it became clear that our lives had ceased to be either one or the other, but formed together to intertwine like a strand of DNA. So we drove, reached the park, and began to hike. I was nervous, it had to be perfect, and the weather forecast for that week had been less than favorable. Our first day, our first hike was to climb Mt. Acadia, and I knew I had to ask then and there. We summitted, enjoyed the view, and began to climb back down. ​On our way back down, we found a beautiful overlook of the inlet dividing the island in two; beyond that, we could see the North Atlantic among the numerous fog banks. It had finally cleared somewhat, so I decided this was the moment. Fumbling with my phone, trying to get some kind of recording of the proposal, Tash knew something was up. It wasn’t until I dropped to one knee that it clicked, and before God and all creation, we began a new chapter in our life as soon as she said yes. After a slight delay getting back down the mountain (a story in itself involving a man with vertigo attempting to climb a mountain and the local rescue team), we finished up that vacation, the ring never leaving her finger. ​Since then, we have continued to live and love together, eager for the day we can make our commitment eternal. Now that the day is near, I want to thank all of you for joining us in celebrating this milestone. God bless you all, here's to many happy years ahead!