From Friends with Cameras
When Tara and John first arrived they expressed how nervous they were for their session. After just 5 minutes, they were enjoying coffee and laughing as if they were the only two people in the room. The entire day was filled with plenty of jokes and so much laughter. The weather was perfect and each location had so much to offer. They are adventure-driven and love nature so every spot they chose suited them magnificently. Their personalities were so genuine and entertaining. We had such a memorable day with them and we absolutely cannot wait to celebrate with them on their whimsical wedding day!
How they Met
We were matched together by Tara's nursing school instructor for her capstone project. The project included 180 hours on the unit she wanted to work on when she graduated nursing school which was the cardiac ICU. John was chosen for her because he was known as "the encyclopedia" and Tara asked a LOT of questions so it was a perfect fit! The chemistry was instantaneous for both of us. [Tara] I remember the first patient we had needed dialysis and John printed out what seemed like 20 pages of policies for us to go over before we did it together. He was all hyped up on coffee and talking super fast and running around grabbing supplies! I felt so comfortable with him as a teacher and that day he had me giggling like a 12-year-old girl and I had no idea why... I was just so happy! I looked forward to those hours every day. I really did ask 100 questions and he never lost patience with me. I didn't know then AT ALL that we would be here today, but I did know that I met someone who I wanted in my life somehow forever. [John] Tara introduced herself to me at the gym we both went to and walked up and tapped me on the shoulder and said we would be together for her project. She literally had to find me because I wouldn't answer her emails! Haha. I didn't know that that one moment was literally going to start our path together - it set our fates on the same timeline!
The Proposal
[Tara] I'm taking over this one because John likes to bend the truth a little bit, haha! So we had this deal that John would tell me to get my nails done if he knew he was going to propose. We planned to hike Mt. Colden in the Adirondack Mountains for my birthday and he told me to get my nails done so, in my head, I really thought it was going to happen! I wasn't nervous on the hike, but I was anticipatory the whole time. The hike was going to take about 12 hours so it was a wide window of time and every time we would come upon something beautiful, I'd be like, "THIS IS IT!" and nope not it. But John, being who he is... decided to trick me and convince me he wasn't proposing. We came up upon Avalanche Lake which is a gorgeous lake right on the mountain and after we traversed around it we stopped for a break and he went, "I'm really upset with myself because I didn't bring the ring. That would've been such a perfect spot to do it." Oh yeah, he got me good because my heart sunk BIG TIME. And we were still 2-3 hours from the summit so we had so much more to hike! So for the rest of the climb to the summit, I convinced him, but really just myself, that it was okay and that I'm sure whatever he had planned would be even better than this PERFECT and breathtakingly beautiful hike, haha. The good thing about it was that the anxiety was gone and I was just enjoying the day in la-la land thinking it's not going to happen. We finally make it to the summit (almost didn't because there was a ladder and I don't do ladders) and it was memorizing!! It was a 360-degree view at 2500ft and I decide to take a panorama... passing across John and making him wave (as he's actually digging in his bag for the RING) and when I put my phone away and faced back to him he's down on one knee. I have tears in my eyes remembering it now! I dropped to my knees with him and I said "YES!" but we had to run off the top of the summit because a thunderstorm rolled in! We spent the next hour under a boulder in the rain snuggling and just being in a fairy-tale world together on this mountain!
Best Part of the Engagement
Planning our wedding has been so much fun because it's been a whirlwind of plot twists. We started with planning an elopement in the mountains in Italy, to a small family wedding in the woods, to our fairy-tale wedding in the Poconos with family and friends! But also, finally knowing that we get to spend the rest of our lives together and that it's not just talk anymore.
Advice from the Couple
Our biggest piece of advice is to do your best not to lose the "us" while planning your wedding. We have made it a priority to make wedding planning something that brings us closer as a couple. If we find that planning is putting a strain on us at all, we take a week off from it and do something fun and lighthearted that rejuvenates our relationship. Wedding planning is stressful but it should never pull apart the two people the whole day is centered around, right? Don't take it so seriously... take a break... get outside and laugh together! A break here and there won't throw the whole wedding day off :)
