Our Story....
Our first date....
Call it dumb luck, a bit of fate or divine intervention, but we both ended up trying online dating after being frustrated by where dating had led us to that point.
After experiencing the ups and downs of being "single and dating," we finally found each other. We started talking online and via text but couldn't coordinate a time to meet in person between work and classes. And then one stressful day ended with the perfect first date. |
Danielle: The day of our first date I had a really horrible day at work. Ivan told me to expect a hot guy and a bottle of wine when I got home. He told me later that he didn't want to miss an opportunity to meet me as we had tried to meet up many times and I was just so busy or he had work. So he got in his truck and drove to me. I made dinner for us, we cuddled on the couch and watched the Phillies game. I can't remember if they won -- I wasn't paying too much attention to the game.
Ivan: With our differences in work schedules, we could never find a time to meet up. One day I decided that I was going to drive up there myself. The trip was an hour long to a city I've never been to - at that point I had only ever been to Dover and Rehoboth. I grabbed a bottle of wine and jumped in my truck. We watched the Phillies game that night.
Ivan: With our differences in work schedules, we could never find a time to meet up. One day I decided that I was going to drive up there myself. The trip was an hour long to a city I've never been to - at that point I had only ever been to Dover and Rehoboth. I grabbed a bottle of wine and jumped in my truck. We watched the Phillies game that night.
Falling in love....
It would be quite accurate to say we fell hard, and fast. Isn't there a saying that goes something like "when you know, you know" ?
Danielle: We first said I love you when we were going to Maine for a weekend vacation. We were going over the George Washington Bridge in New York, crossing over to Connecticut and it just slipped out!
Ivan: She helped me move a friend out of an abusive environment, she stayed faithful to me when I deployed shortly after we started dating and she help me see I had some negative influences in my life. As time went on and certain events passed, I knew I was in love with Danielle.
It would be quite accurate to say we fell hard, and fast. Isn't there a saying that goes something like "when you know, you know" ?
Danielle: We first said I love you when we were going to Maine for a weekend vacation. We were going over the George Washington Bridge in New York, crossing over to Connecticut and it just slipped out!
Ivan: She helped me move a friend out of an abusive environment, she stayed faithful to me when I deployed shortly after we started dating and she help me see I had some negative influences in my life. As time went on and certain events passed, I knew I was in love with Danielle.
A love that knows no boundaries....
Ivan:
I found a website called Loving From a Distance that's dedicated to
couples in long distance relationships. It had tips about how to stay
close. We would send letters to each other and talk over Skype as often
as we could.
Danielle: I would send Ivan care packages to remind him of home and that I was thinking of him. My parents kept up their Christmas tree until February when he came home so we could celebrate our first Christmas together. We found ways to make the best of it. He'd surprise me with flowers just to make me smile.
And somehow I let him go both times without a proposal!
Danielle: I would send Ivan care packages to remind him of home and that I was thinking of him. My parents kept up their Christmas tree until February when he came home so we could celebrate our first Christmas together. We found ways to make the best of it. He'd surprise me with flowers just to make me smile.
And somehow I let him go both times without a proposal!
The proposal....
By 2014 we both knew we were it. We were each other's "one."
It was just a matter of when. Ivan: Just before coming home from my second deployment while together, Danielle told me about a trip to the Outer Banks that her mother was planning. Between the beach, the ocean, the lighthouse and the time off I knew there was no better time to propose. This was it. But I had lost track of time and hadn't bought an engagement ring. I bought it less than 15 hours before we left on that trip! After talking to her mom and her best friend, I was ready to propose. I had fantasized about how it would all play out perfectly, but I knew I just had to let the moment happen. |
We were on a moonlit walk on the beach and Danielle was looking out at the ocean. I carefully opened the ring box and held it out, waiting for her to look back. Finally, she looked back and saw the ring sparkle, gasped and dropped everything she was holding.
I got down on one knee and waited for her to collect herself. Finally, I asked and she said yes.
I got down on one knee and waited for her to collect herself. Finally, I asked and she said yes.
And they lived happily ever after....
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