Today is the last day of the Sunriver wedding contest. If you havent nominated us yet please take the time to do so. Gabi is unbelieveable and deserves a perfect wedding day. She has an incredible amount of strength to endure all the craziness this cancer has put us through and she hasnt backed down an inch. I am so lucky to have her, and I will always do everything in my power to keep her. The least I can do is try and win us a dream wedding. I thought I would share my entry for the contest with everyone. They ask for the story of the proposal and then what is your idea of a dream wedding: The inspiration for my proposal to Gabi came to me in the most memorable dream I will ever have. I dreamt that I wrote her a song and performed it in front of our friends and family before getting down on one knee and asking her to marry me. When I woke I had a tune complete with lyrics for the chorus in my head. I immediately wrote them down. My song “Hey Gabriela” was born. I am not a musician or a songwriter but I spent the next few months tinkering with lyrics and humming melodies to myself. I reached a point where I got as far as I could on my own and recruited my friend Landon, who is a talented musician, to help make my vision a reality. I spent two weeks sneaking off to meet with Landon to work on the song. I was also coordinating with friends and family about the details of the proposal, swearing them to secrecy. Armed with a song, a ring, and a secret plan I was ready to ask my muse to marry me. On January 17th, 2014 the plan was set in motion. Gabi’s family was in town and we were going to go out for dinner. I called her and told her I had to work late and wouldn’t make it. As soon as I got the okay that the house was clear friends started to arrive to help set up the house. We lined the stairwell leading up from the front door with photos of me and Gabi along with little notes mentioning places, activities, and inside jokes that were special to us. Final instructions were given to everyone and after one final practice with Landon I was ready. The worst part was waiting for Gabi to get home. Everything went perfectly. It was the best day of my life. Gabriela Duarte, my best friend, the love of my life said yes. Nothing will beat that moment until we say “I do” on our wedding day. I had a friend videotape the proposal. You can watch it by following this link: https://youtube/watch?v=RMS9bLInLTY&feature=youtu.be Gabi and I both dream of having a destination wedding. The idea of whisking away our family and friends to a beautiful location and have them witness our vows is ideal. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our wedding plans for next April when I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in June. After undergoing an intensive round of chemotherapy we had hoped we were in the clear. A round of testing revealed that I have a chromosomal abnormality that guarantees that the cancer will come back. The only option is a bone marrow transplant. While we wait to find a bone marrow donor I continue to receive chemotherapy treatments along blood and platelet transfusions. I have been unable to work since the diagnosis and it could be up to a year before I am able to rejoin the workforce. The timeline for a transplant, the care required following the procedure, and the financial hardship have forced us to cancel our plans for a spring wedding. It was heartbreaking. This challenging time has only made Gabi and I stronger as a couple. We are living our vows even before our wedding day. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, we go through everything life throws at us hand in hand and standing tall. Winning this wedding would be unbelievable. It would be a bright light at the end of a very long tunnel. Central Oregon has always been the place that Gabi and I can escape to when we need to get away from it all. It was the place we both sheepishly confessed that we believed that we would get married one day. It’s a little slice of paradise that means so much to us. Nothing would mean more to us than to share that with our family and friends on our wedding day.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:32:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015