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“For a whole day, Blake and I were the only ones who knew we were engaged, it was really special.”
WHEN AND WHERE DID YOU MEET?
We were apartment neighbors…well actually we lived in the same house – just on different floors! Blake lived in the apartment first and I moved in November of 2021. We both knew each other existed, but we are both introverts, so we were able to avoid running into each other outside of the apartment for a little over a month…that is until we both swiped right on Tinder (how embarrassing), on New Year’s Eve/Day! Blake’s first message to me was, “Hey, neighbor! Sorry about the noise!” …haha!!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST DATE!
Our first date was very relaxed and low-key! Blake came up stairs and we watched my favorite movies, The Truman Show and Just Go With It! Then we just chatted for awhile and called it a night and were back together the next evening to watch his favorite movie, Year One! (It’s ok to laugh at our picks, we laugh too!)
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO TOGETHER?
We love a good date night in! Making some drinks and a nice charcuterie board to snack on while we watch a new movie or show! We love finding different foods at the grocery store to add to our boards to try for the first time!
WHEN DID YOU KNOW HE/SHE WAS THE ONE?
For Alyssa, I knew Blake was the one just after a few dates! There was no “ah-ha” moment for me, I was just instantly comfortable around him and we just clicked so naturally. Ever since those first couple dates, doing life with him just made so much more sense and instead of just thinking about me, I started thinking of us! And the rest is history!
For Blake, I knew Alyssa was the one when I realized that she loves me for all of my peculiarities and knows me better than I know myself.
HOW DID HE PROPOSE?
Over the 2023 Christmas holiday! Our schedule was jam-packed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we decided to have our little Christmas on December 23rd. Before opening our gifts, Blake caught me off guard and proposed! One of my gifts from him was a sweatshirt that says, “Future Mrs. Zaman” on it, so I wore that to tell our families the next day! For a whole day, Blake and I were the only ones who knew we were engaged, it was really special.
WHEN YOU THINK OF YOUR WEDDING DAY, WHAT DO YOU ENVISION? WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU?
We both envision simple, with a touch of class! Our most important thing is that ourselves and our guests are comfortable! The most important thing to us is our ceremony, we chose to do a private ceremony for something a little more intimate and “us,” but we can’t wait to celebrate with all our family and friends at our reception! We are both very excited for our day!
WHY THE WILLOW?
We heard about The Willow on Christmas Eve. I (Alyssa) looked up the Facebook page and saw a post back from September 2022 saying they only had a few dates left. I scrolled through the pictures and just fell in love with the place, so I emailed to inquire about any available dates left for 2024. Within a couple days, we had a tour booked to meet with Corey, the owner, and Morgan, the wedding planner! Walking through and hearing all of the details, we both definitely fell in love with the venue. It has a very welcoming vibe, it’s a bit rustic with a modern twist, which is truly exactly what we were looking for! It is perfectly us! We got into the car and Blake said, “Yeah, I don’t even want to look at anymore venues! The views are great!” and I agreed with him! Probably not even an hour after leaving, we emailed them to say we wanted to book our date!
Wedding Date: November 16, 2024
Catering: Flair of Country
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