About the Bride and Groom
The Bride
My name is Alyssa. I’m a graphic+web designer. I graduated from VCU with a BFA in graphic design. I work at a pretty cool design agency called Rocket Pop Media. I once cheered for the Richmond Raiders arena football team and I was on the VCU Gold Rush dance team for 4yrs. I speak fluent Mandarin and a little bit of French. I’m Chinese, Indonesian and Dutch. I love Harry Potter and I’m addicted to cupcakes.
The Groom
His name is Ryan. He graduated from VCU with a BS in criminal justice. He worked security at malls, but now he is kicking butt at the Richmond International Airport as Officer Paulette! He is an avid gamer and can play a mean game of disc golf. He can’t cook but anything he attempts with ground beef is delicious. He is 1/16th Asian. Ha, just kidding. He is 1/16th French… or German… or… wait…
How We Met
Ryan and I met during my Freshman year of college (he was a Sophomore). We took the same American Literature class and were in the same study group. He had a crush on me then but I was dating someone else so he kept his distance—although looking back, I do remember some instances when he was flirting with me and being absolutely creeptastic about it.
And that was that.
Over the summer, I became single and Ryan immediately jumped at the opportunity. Our first real conversation ever was about Harry Potter. It was the summer that Deathly Hallows came out and we talked about how it felt like a piece of our childhood was ending and right then, I felt a little connection!
So school started and we saw each other a lot, went on a couple of dates, etc. Then one day, he came to my dorm and surprised me with a copy of Pan’s Labyrinth on DVD, which was my all-time favorite movie at the time! We watched the movie and afterwards, he coolly asked me what would happen if he asked me to be his girlfriend. I told him to do it. So he cheesily got down on one knee and asked me. I said no.
Just kidding. Clearly, I said yes!
We dated for three fantastic years. In October 2010, we took a trip to Italy and he proposed in the most romantic way…
How He Proposed
He proposed to me in a watery alleyway in Venice.
The Details: We were with a tour group in Italy and on the day we were all taking gondola rides in Venice, Ryan was making a huge deal about wanting to sit next to me. He would not get into a gondola unless he had a seat next to mine. I thought it was odd… he was being such a prick about it, and I was sure the tour director wanted to shove him off the dock into the icy cold water. So after much bickering, we finally got into a gondola where he could sit next to me. A few minutes later, his mood changed and he asked the man sitting across from us if he could take a picture. As I leaned in for the picture, he pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him.
I was so surprised, all I could do was cry (it was the happy kind). It was an eternity before someone on the gondola yelled at me to answer him and through sobs and sniffles, I nodded yes.
:)
