It was summer of 2011, and I was living in a college house in Santa Monica, California. I was home sick so much. Every other weekend I would fly back to Virginia with frequent flyer points. Friday had approached, and my college friends back in Virginia decided to go out and have some night life fun, so I flew out to Virginia. At a glance within the gathering, I caught Luis looking at me, which caught my attention, so whenever I thought he wasn't looking, I would look, and he would catch me looking. Eventually he came to me, and we talked for a while. Toward the end of the night we exchanged numbers and said our goodbyes. As time went by, Luis would call me and text me. Then I started to drift away thinking, how am I going to have a relationship with someone across the states? As summer finals approached, I got very busy and communication became less frequent. September had come, and I got so homesick that I decided to move back to Virginia and finish my program at George Mason University. On October 14, 2011, I received a call from Luis stating he wanted to have dinner with me and was willing to fly me down from California for the weekend. I told him I was back in Virginia, and we went to dinner, and by golly, it may sound cheesy, but the sparks were there.

As we got to know each other more, the more I fell head over heels for this man. In 2015 on Memorial Day weekend, Luis had asked me if I wanted to go to Virginia Beach for the weekend with family. I said yes, and on that Saturday morning he woke me up at a few minutes before sunrise to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. I was livid. I huffed and puffed the ride down the elevator stating, "it's vacation time so we shouldn't be up this early; it's just wrong." He of course thought that it was hilarious. As we walked the beach and watched the sunrise, my eyes drifted toward the beautiful view, but then quickly remembered that sleeping in has its beauty too. Luis didn't risk any minute longer and called my name and got on his knees and proposed to me. I was stunned, and so many emotions were squeezing through my brain that I was mute for a minute or two. And he asked again. This time I had to pay him back for waking me up so early, so I said I would think about it, and oh boy I have never seen a man blush so hard in my life. And I reacted quick and said yes.

Planning a wedding was crazy, especially when you are making so many things on your own. I'm not a perfectionist, but I love making crafts, so for my wedding — down to painting chargers to making centerpieces—it was fun. October 1, 2016 had finally arrived, and I was blessed with so many friends and family. Marirosa and her team were amazing. I don't know what I would have done without her. My cousin Joel González was my videographer who I adore tremendously. I'm a vintage girl, so having The Great Gatsby and vintage limos was a must. I was blessed with a beautiful day and an amazing man.

Photography by Marirosa

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Meet Marirosa of Photography by Marirosa: I am a 4'11'' Puerto Rican wedding photographer living outside of Washington, DC. I've been photographing weddings for more than ten years, and in that time I've learned that everyone has a story, and our path leads us to where we need to go — it's a focus on connections between people — capturing those moments is what I focus on through my photos.

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