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How We Met + The Proposal – Nikki’s Story:
On the eve of my 20th birthday, November 21st, 2014, my girl friends invited me to a party. Little did I know, that I would meet the love of my life that night. I guess you could say it was love at first sight, and I had a feeling that this man could be my future husband, but I was too shy to approach him. It wasn’t until a few weeks later at another party his roommates were throwing, is when Matt and I met again, and we finally said hi. I, unfortunately, had to leave with a friend, and I literally ran away from him, like down the street to catch a taxi. I never gave him any of my contact information, and he only knew me by my nickname. I thought I would never see him again, and I didn’t think he would even want to either. Luckily, he found me the next day through social media (thank you Facebook), and soon after he asked me out. I like to call it my modern-day Cinderella moment, and from there, our relationship and love for each other grew. The more I got to know Matt, the more I fell for him, and realized he was everything I dreamed of having not only in a boyfriend, but also a husband, and I hoped that one day that dream would come true. Little did I know it actually would. Fast forward almost two years, and I’m asking Matt to go with me to see the Festival of Lights at Van Dusen Gardens. It is one of my favourite places in Vancouver, but I’ve never seen it during winter. We were supposed to go there for our first date, but typical Vancouver weather came with a downpour of rain and plans were changed that night. That weekend before the big day, Matt asked if I was available to go to Van Dusen on the upcoming Tuesday, which unfortunately I had work commitments, but happened to be free on Monday instead. I was so excited to finally go and just have a night out together. That weekend was a difficult one for me, with things getting worse and worse as the days passed, a snowstorm that wouldn’t end, and on top of all that, had an awful cold. Finally, Monday came, December 12, 2016, and off we went. I thought it was just another date night, and in a way making up for the original first date that unfortunately did not happen. We wandered around the gardens admiring the lights and all the little displays, listening to the Christmas music playing around us, reminisced about the past and talked about the future. After about an hour or so, he stopped us right before we entered the Rose Garden (one of my favourite areas in the whole garden), where he told me how much he loved me. He then asked if I knew what this was, which I had no idea what he meant by that and had to ask what he was talking about. With a one-word answer of “This”, I clued in really quickly, and couldn’t believe if what I was thinking was going to actually happen! I asked if he really meant it, and with the answer of a “Yes”, I started crying as he got down on one knee with the most beautiful ring ever and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes over and over again as I cried tears of happiness, and tried to process that the moment I’ve been dreaming of just occurred. I cannot wait to start a new chapter of my life with my best friend and have many adventures with him by my side.
How We Met + The Proposal – Matt’s Story:
It was just another typical gathering of us young folk. That is until I saw the Girl in Green from across the room. I didn’t work up the courage to talk to her that night, and it wasn’t until 3 weeks later that I saw her again at a casual party my roommates and I threw. Again, she stood out from the crowd. I knew I had to talk to her! I’m sure I must have used some cheesy pick-up line, and why she continued to talk to me all night is beyond me. When her friend dragged her away suddenly well after midnight, I knew I had to talk to her again, so I found her on Facebook the next day. Thank you social media! We talked more and decided to meet up for a stroll around Van Dusen Gardens. As most of us have experienced, Raincouver had a different plan for us. Instead, I made her my classic chicken and veggie dinner (I didn’t give her food poisoning, thank goodness!). That was on December 13th, 2014. Almost 2 years have passed at this point, and I knew she was the one for a long time, and there was no point in waiting around any longer. I bought her the most perfect engagement ring; it had Nikki written all over it. I decided that I had to take her to Van Dusen, especially since the first time didn’t work out and I promised her I would take her! She had no idea what was about to happen. I proposed under the beautiful Christmas lights that Van Dusen Gardens offers, exactly 2 years minus 1 day since we were meant to go the first time. Of course, she said Yes, and the rest is history!
Photo Credit:
Images by Christine Pienaar
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