Stephen and Amanda met at his sister-in-laws house after Amanda arrived three hours late. He thought to himself, “Man, she sure is cute” when she walked through the door. Through the course of the weekend, they spent hours jet skiing and talking. In fact, they stayed up talking until 4AM. After they departed, they decided they would just be friends.
But before Amanda even got home, Steve had myspaced and facebooked her.
Amanda thought this was a little creepy, but they continued to chat via AIM… and eventually over the phone. Their relationship continued to build. Though they had a long distance relationship, they feel it made them better at communicating.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to Stephen and Amanda. We had an awesome engagement session in Dallas at Las Colinas; the location was rich with texture, great light, a surprise area of amazing graffiti stairs, and two deeply in-love friends, anxious for their June 19th wedding. After you view their photos, there’s a Q&A with the bride and groom at the end! Enjoy!
What is your engagement story? Tell us all the juicy details!
Stephen: I took Amanda to look at rings at Helzberg’s. She loved the Monica ring that they had. However, I wanted to put a high quality stone in the center. Helzberg’s price for just the setting was pretty steep. So instead I decided to go with Markham Jewelers. The lady there found a setting as close to it as possible. Now that I had the ring, I needed to find the perfect diamond for it. After hours of looking at diamonds online, I finally settled on an internally flawless and D color diamond. I felt that only the best would do for my sweetie.
The night of our engagement I arranged for a carriage ride to the fort worth water gardens where I would propose to Amanda. As we stopped, the lady driving the carriage made some excuse as to why we needed to get out for a second. But there was a beautiful area just around the corner. We walked to a certain fountain that was misting. I pulled out a letter I had written to make sure I covered all of the bases and I could tell Amanda how I really felt. As I finished the letter and said, “Amanda Lynn Sweeney will you marry me.” She of course was saying yes before I could get the words out. Once she said yes though, I couldn’t get the ring box open. It took me 3 tries. As I slid the ring on her hand she thought that it was the bridal ring as well, but it was only 1 ring.
We finished the carriage ride and then headed to dinner. I had made reservations at the Mansion on Turtle Creek. It was such a nice night that we decided to eat outside. The food was phenomenal and it was great to be able to celebrate our first night being engaged.
Stephen, what is your favorite characteristic or personality trait about Amanda?
She is constantly challenging me in areas I need to get better in. Amanda is also very tough in certain situations.
What is one of your favorite moments, experiences, or trips that you’ve done together?
Stephen: (1)Had to be doing the Cow Town Marathon. We both talked about our training runs and even completed some of them together. I was nervous as it took Amanda longer than expected to finish. This event showed us how to make fitness a priority in our lives.
(2) There is the trip to Colorado Bend when Amanda was trying to clean a fish. My friend Chauncey decided to help and accidentally got Amanda’s finger. This was the first time I knew she would faint at the sight of blood. Not to mention she was the only girl on the trip.
(3) We have made 2 trips t Lubbock the last couple of years where I raced in the half ironman. It always means a lot to me because Amanda is such a great sport. She cheers for everyone throughout the entire race. This last year I signed to her I love you as I was finishing. It meant a lot that she was there for the finish. We really love trips in the car. We tend to talk and talk.
What have you enjoyed MOST about being engaged and planning your wedding?
I like to plan stuff. So just working together and planning out all the events has been interesting. I have really enjoyed planning the honeymoon.
Do you have advice for other couples who are planning their wedding?
1. Make sure you go with the right photographer the first time.
2. The cheapest way is to use a wedding chapel that also has a reception hall.
If you got in the car right this moment and could go anywhere you wanted without thinking about any responsibilities (aka: jobs), where would you go and why?
I have always thought about having a house in Colorado for the summer. I know Amanda would want to go to Washington DC to begin her masters in speech pathology.
What is your ideal date night?
It really depends. Some nights it’s great just to stay in and watch a movie. Some nights it’s fun to go out to eat. Every now and then get dressed up and go out to some place that’s really fancy. It’s also fun to go to a sporting event.
What are you looking forward to most about your wedding?
Stephen: Seeing her walk down the aisle and dancing with her.
Steve and Amanda, I can’t wait for your wedding! Enjoy your engagement photos!
by Magan
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