In the middle of a spooky-inspired couples shoot, Anely got down on one knee and proposed. Little did she know, Jessica also had a ring waiting for her.
How did the romance begin?
We have been together for five years. We had mutual friends and were both invited to the same get-together. Before this day, we had never met despite being from the same town. We hit it off after some light flirting and exchanged numbers. We started texting each other for the next couple of weeks before Anely asked me out on a date.
Tell us about the planning process for the proposal.
A: We had talked about marriage before, so we both knew it was something in our future. I had been thinking about proposing for over a year but was having difficulty deciding on the perfect moment. At first, I thought about proposing at a music festival, but I then realized that I wanted it to be a moment just for the two of us to share. Once I decided on when I would do it, I contacted David from Silk & Thorn and asked if he would do a photoshoot.
I asked Jessica if she wanted to do a spooky Halloween photoshoot, and she was immediately down for it, so that was the cover-up. Keeping it a secret was difficult, but little did I know that the real secret keepers were my two sisters and Jessica’s sister because they had to keep it a secret that we were both planning on proposing.
There was a spooky coincidence leading up to the proposal, tell us about it!
We had the photoshoot date set for Oct 28th, but it snowed a couple of days before, so I asked to reschedule because it would be snowy and muddy at the location. I rescheduled for the following week, not knowing that Jessica had plans to propose that weekend on Halloween! We were planning on going to see our family, but due to COVID, we ended up not going, so her plan to propose didn’t go as planned.
When it was time for our photoshoot, we drove out to Stone Park and were met with a closed gate. I immediately started panicking and called our photographer David. All I saw were closed gates and didn’t know how we would get in and started thinking of how we could make this happen.
Thankfully David knew of another way to drive around to another entrance and finally got to our location.
Tell us about the proposal!
We got to our photo shoot location, and I had to sneak the ring to our photographer because I didn’t have pockets. We started taking photos, and I grew more nervous about when the right moment would be and how to get the ring back without Jessica noticing.
We walked to another spot, and I looked at our photographer, and we both gave a look like this is it. I made Jessica walk in front “to pick the next spot,” and I was able to sneak the ring back and shoved it up the back of my vest. My heart started racing, but I tried to play it cool as David stepped back to capture the moment. I nervously spun Jessica in a little dance so that I could take the ring out.
As she turned around, I started saying a few words, and tears started falling down my face. Jessica looked down as I pulled the ring out and the look on her face instantly put a smile on mine. I still had happy tears falling, but it was only because loving her has made me soft. It was a moment that I will remember forever, and I’m thankful we have pictures to keep forever.
J: When we got home, I decided that I wanted to give Anely her ring at that moment as well, so we could both show off our rings to our friends at the same time!
Speaking of rings, tell us about yours.
J: I had to begin looking for rings while I would take breaks at work because Anely and I are inseparable, and she would eventually see what I was looking at. I wanted to find a beautiful ring and support a small business, so I decided that looking at Etsy was the best option! It didn’t take long to find the perfect ring.
A: Finding the right ring went pretty smoothly. It was the delivery that had some challenges because Jessica checks the mail just about every day! I had to ask a friend if I could ship it to her house so that Jessica wouldn’t see it.
What does your engagement mean to you both? Has anything changed?
Being engaged is a way of solidifying our commitment to one another. After being together for five years, I know that this next step leads us into bigger changes, not only planning a wedding but also building a life together. It is definitely something that all of our friends and family say, “it was about time!”
Anely and I have been living together for over two years now, and our friends and family tell us that we act like we’re already married. Nothing much has changed other than the fact that we have some gorgeous rings.
How is wedding planning going, amidst a pandemic?
We have talked about a few things, but because of COVID, we have decided to have our wedding in 2022. This gives at least a year and a half to make plans. We have started our guest list, and the location we have in mind is a Winery in Lexington, Nebraska. We are planning on having an outdoor wedding and have found ideas and inspiration on Pinterest.
We want to stay close to our roots and include some traditions, so we’re looking into a Mariachi band. Other than that, we are still a little under two years out, so we still have a lot of planning to do.
Photography by Silk & Thorn
