It all started when…

Travis and I grew up in the same little town, Lake Havasu City, AZ, so we always knew of each other. It wasn't until my junior year and his senior year that we got to know one another. We had pre-calc together and he happened to sit a row behind me and would constantly pinch my arm. Little did we know, that minor annoyance would be the start of our forever. Soon, he graduated high school and moved 3 hours away for college, this is when we decided to officially start dating. We would meet every other weekend or so and go explore beautiful northern Arizona. Once I graduated high school, I moved to Salt Lake City which was 10 hours away from him. This was a struggle! However, it allowed us to establish a strong foundation of communication and trust. Once we both graduated college, COVID hit and that was yet another obstacle we faced. Finally moving in together and then being trapped inside with one another was a learning curve, but worth every minute. Travis was offered a job in Clovis, NM and I was not too keen on the idea of Clovis, so we planted our roots in Shallowater, TX, and here we are 7 years strong. Could not be happier to spend the rest of our lives with one another.

THE PROPOSAL
Do you ever remember the butterflies you got when asking or being asked to prom? A proposal is like that by x1000. Travis and I designed my ring together, so there was no surprise (which I'm okay with). I tried on the ring once it arrived in the mail and did not want to take it off! However, Travis being the romantic he is, wanted to do something special. He was in Orlando, FL for a conference and my friend and I flew down for the weekend to enjoy the Florida sun. I knew the proposal was happening this weekend, but not sure when, so the stress was through the roof! Making sure my hair and makeup were picture-worthy at all hours of the day. On our last day, we drove down to Cocoa Beach, FL, and spent all day on the beach (still no proposal....) At this point, I was getting a little worried, my hair was a mess and my mascara was running from swimming in the ocean. My friend and I went on a walk to look for seashells and the one bird flying pooped on my left hand, a little sign of good luck in my opinion (still gross, lol). Finally! We headed up the pier to have dinner and I could just sense this was when it was happening and I was full panic. I basically ran halfway down the pier because I was too scared to turn around. He proposed in the middle of the pier and it was truly magical. Although I knew it was happening, I still cried.

WHAT MOMENT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ON YOUR WEDDING DAY?

We look at our wedding day as a celebration for all the trials and tribulations we've faced throughout our relationship and came out stronger. We are mainly looking forward to celebrating our love and union with the people that have been with us every step of the way.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TWIN LAKES?
We chose Twin Lakes for the team and easiness of everything. The team at Twin Lakes is incredibly knowledgeable, supportive, and simply amazing! As a bride, we have no idea what we're doing and it can be extremely overwhelming, but the Twin Lakes Team makes it so effortless.

Do you have any advice for future couples?

Our wedding planning seemed fairly easy, which made me feel like I was forgetting a million things. It was extremely helpful going to any wedding expos or venue fairs that were near us to see what things are offered. We were also DIY'ing mostly everything which helped with costs tremendously. One of our must-haves was the drink donkeys. They are so fun and were such a big hit!

Love hard and communicate. Love seems like a no-brainer, but truly love HARD. Love on the bad days, the days where you feel like you hate the world, and the days where you feel like you're on top of the world. It's so hard to get lost in the way of everyday life, but be present with your partner even on the days when you want to lose yourself by scrolling through your phone. Communication is SO crucial, mainly because one person may say one thing and it is being perceived differently from the other person. These two things will bring a level of maturity to a relationship that you didn't even know existed. Those two little things will create the best friend you spend the rest of your life with. Also, don't forget to be silly! Go on fun little dates, joke around, and bring out your inner child. Life's too short to be serious all the time!

WEDDING THEME/STYLE

Our wedding style is kind of a mix of rustic, boho, and Italian-ish. We wanted it to be very old-school and modest. Our colors are black and champagne gold with eucalyptus greenery. I'm not sure if there's a name for our theme, but we see things we like and create them with our vision!