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Contest Winner Story

Tonia & Seth
The Courtship
My fiancé, Seth and I met in July 2011. We met online on OkCupid.com. Our initial interaction was quite unique. I didn’t have a profile on the website and instead had posted several pictures in lieu of answering questions. I contacted him with a very simple message, “Hi, how are you?” He emailed back telling me he was doing fine thank you but you don’t have a profile and have a nice day. I almost deleted the message thinking he was rude but saw that he was online and sent him an instant message. He again pointed out that I didn’t have a profile and asked, “How do I know you’re not a 55 year-old Congan man wanting my social security number?” He later explained that he had been contacted several times by scam artists from different states without a profile. He told me that he almost deleted my message too because I looked too good to be true!

Our first date was at a winery, Alto Vineyards, in Champaign. We tasted wine, listened to a live band under the stars and a full moon. We were smitten with each other on that first night and couldn’t believe it was happening. I’m originally from California and told him I had discovered fireflies in the Midwest and thought they were beautiful. He caught a firefly for me in his bare hands!

We have spoken on many occasions about how lucky we are to have found each other. Seth was married once before and I have told him I am thankful that his ex-wife kept him busy for me because if I met him earlier, I would not have been ready.

The Proposal

We had looked at rings a couple of months before. I picked out some features that I liked and trusted him to find the right ring. On more than one occasion he told me he just wanted to be sure that I liked it. I told him, “Just kneel in front of me and show me something sparkly and I will say yes!” Later, I found out that he custom ordered the stone to have a specially designed cut that sparkled with even more fire!

Seth planned a holiday party for two at home and we dressed up for dinner, dancing, and wine. We toasted to the special evening, our love, and to our future. Since our first date, we have been dancing and that night, we danced to Christmas music, jazz, and classics like Frank Sinatra.

While dancing to the song "Dance Me To The End Of Love," by Madeleine Peyroux, I whispered in Seth's ear, "I would dance with you forever." He looked at me and asked, "Forever? Are you sure?" I told him, "Yes, of course. Forever!" He asked again, "Are you absolutely sure? You want to dance with me? Forever?" He asked a few more times while he fumbled for the ring in his pocket to position it stone up. I replied again, "Yes, why?"

Seth then got down on one knee, held my hand, and presented the ring. Seth said, "I want to dance with you forever. I love you and I'm looking forward to our future together. Will you marry me? Through tears, I said, "Yes!"

The Big Day

We are getting married on Saturday, September 29, 2012. The day is very special to me as it is my mother’s birthday and she died when I was 6 years old. In this way, I can honor and include her and also, take back that day as a happy day to celebrate. Our ceremony and reception will be held at Riverside Receptions in Geneva, Illinois. The ceremony will take place in the courtyard (weather permitting) which is just beautiful with stone walkways, brick walls, and green vine growing up the walls.

I found my dress at The Crystal Bride in Geneva, Illinois. My Godmother and bridal party traveled from California, Utah, and central Illinois to be there for me on that special day. These women are my support system, my family, and I knew I wanted them to be there to help me select a dress that my mother would have loved. My consultant, Heather, was just amazing and so attentive. The dress I chose was lucky number 7. It is a beautiful A line, soft and silky, and even has pockets! I was told that my posture changed completely when I had my dress on!

Funniest thing so far?? One of my bridesmaids suggested that I try and sit in a huge ballgown. I wasn’t sure where my petticoat ended and the seat began but the chair slipped out from underneath me and I fell and landed, feet up! My cousin, the Mademoiselle of Honor (she doesn’t want to think of herself as matronly) told everyone if I could fall on my behind in a ballgown in a boutique bridal shop and laugh out loud not crying, I was going to be okay.

I am having a more intimate wedding with about 100 guests. Every single guest will be traveling to witness our nuptials and we will be very happy and grateful if we can have our dearest loved ones attend.

The one piece of advice I would give a newly engaged bride would be to try not to get overwhelmed. After announcing to your friends and family, start with a tentative guest list to have an idea of the size of wedding you anticipate. Once you have a guest list, finding the right venue and date will be possible. After selecting a date and venue, a lot of decisions will be made for you and you can start to have some fun with planning!

The Honeymoon

We hope to go on an all-inclusive Caribbean vacation! We are paying for our wedding ourselves so we hope to have a good honeymoon registry that will allow us to go right after our wedding.

Thank you!

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