Wedding Day

Rotch Jones Duff House and Garden Museum 

Ceremony

The Eagle

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Our Wedding

Ten years ago, we met during a Wednesday night league at Wonderbowl. We were bowling against each other on lanes 23 and 24. She was just a sub that night and was busy doing homework in between frames. From first sight I kept telling myself, damn, that girl is wicked cute. I wanted to talk to her, but talking to pretty girls was not my strong suit. I finally mustered up the courage to reach my hand out and say nice shot, to which she proceeded to say thanks and go right back to her schoolwork, showing little to no interest in engaging in conversation with me. My confidence was shot and I just told myself, you tried , and left her alone the rest of the night. I thought she had no interest in me at all and did not try to pursue her any further. Little did I know, she just got out of a bad relationship and was just mad at the world that Wednesday night. Turns out, something I did sparked her interest. She began to do her investigative work on me , researching about me on all of my social media platforms. She must have liked what she found because she added me on Facebook, and I gladly accepted. She messaged me and that was the beginning. As we started talking and learning more about one another, the more I was starting to fall for this beautiful lady. I was still in shock that she was even giving me the time of day. I found out that she worked at the Cumberland Farms right by Wonderbowl, where I worked at the time. I began visiting every day, trying to figure out her schedule without asking. I told her I was coming for coffee or something to eat, but I was just there to see her. At the time, I didnt even drink coffee and this relationship is the reason I am now addicted to coffee. I asked her on an official first date and took her to Friendlys. I had no clue what to talk about because I was nervous. We basically played the question game and learned some more about each other. By the end of the date , I knew I wanted to be with this girl, but I had no clue how to ask. She began visiting me at work after she had got out, bringing me a custom coffee just the way I liked it and my favorite treat, a Swiss roll, almost every shift. This was a continuous cycle and we still were not officially dating. On April 17, 2015 she came in , gave me my coffee and Swiss roll and asked me , So when are you going to make me your girlfriend? I was in shock and at first didnt know what to say. I said, Right now, and asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes. Over the next several years we moved into our first apartment together, got our wonderful dog Tobey, and achieved many other firsts as a couple. We went on many adventures together including concerts, comedy shows, broadway shows, and traveling. We have had our ups and downs, our good days and our bad days, but no matter what happens, we love each other and always work things out. As a couple, we can climb any mountain and defeat any obstacle as long as we rely on each other. Let us forward fast to year 8 where we had another first as a couple, our first all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We were both excited to go , but little did Jasmine know that our story was about to start its next chapter. This was the year that I was going to finally propose. Every sign in the universe was trying to stop me, but I was not backing down. The original ring that I had bought had been stolen from the jewelers due to carelessness. Through a lot of stress and back and forth with the jewelers, I finally got my replacement ring two weeks before we were going to leave for our vacation. I called the Jewel Punta Cana, the resort we were staying in, and set up a romantic dinner for two on the beach for Friday, November 17th. I wanted to keep the 17th so that way I only have to remember the month I proposed not the date , because it is the same as our anniversary. This was the last day before we were leaving so I knew it would make her happy, plus it was where I was going to propose. Friday approaches and then the universe decides to play with me again. I get an E-mail in the morning saying that they are canceling the romantic dinner because there are supposed to be remnants of a hurricane that night and there will be torrential downpours. I am now panicking, but trying to hide it to not let Jasmine become suspicious. We had decided the last night we were going to dress nicely for dinner and she wasnt feeling it because she was upset we were leaving the next day. I was adamant that we still dressed up and she agreed and I even wore pants, rather than shorts. We walked to the steakhouse and during our walk, I was looking for a place with good lighting so I could get someone to capture my proposal, but the resort was poorly lit at night. After dinner, we took the bridge over the pool and were almost back to our room when I finally saw good lighting and told myself, It is now or never. I stopped her to take some pictures together over the pool and in one of the pictures I pulled out the ring and held it in the picture. The picture came out kind of blurry, but I technically captured the moment. When she finally saw it, she started to cry and I asked her if she would marry me. She wouldn’t stop crying so I thought to myself that she is going to say no. To my surprise, she said yes and I was completely ecstatic because it wasn't exactly what she had pictured for a proposal, but it all worked out in the end. We are now in the engaged chapter of our story. Lots of new firsts, but this time as an engaged couple. We look forward to our wedding planning. I know Jasmine is super excited and so am I. The smile on her face when we talk about wedding stuff shows how genuinely happy she is. I love this girl with all my heart and cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her. I know everyone reading our story is saying to themselves that its about time and you all are right. I was trying to work out the perfect proposal and trying so hard, I kept getting in my own way. Turns out, something simple was all it took to ask my baby to marry me. For anyone who took the time to read this, I want to leave you with this bit of advice. Dont overthink, just do what your heart says. Also, every relationship has its rocky points, but never give up, take some space apart in separate rooms for a bit, and then talk it out. Compromise and communication will be the key to your success.

Jasmine & Mark

Jasmine & Mark

Photos