Lovely Little Rhody Engagement: Kristina & Dan {Jennifer Leatherwood}

OK. I admit it. I am completely and totally biased on this one. First off, these two met at my alma mater, University of Rhode Island {Go Rhody!!}, and their engagement session took place on the very same campus where I had some of the best times of my life…. studying of course! Oh, and did I mention that my husband Pat and I met at URI, too? And to top it all off, Kristina is a fellow blogger pal of mine, over at K5 Becomes a Bride! So there, I got it off my chest. I was in love with these photos from the talented Jennifer Leatherwood before I even set eyes on them!

Kristina and Dan are a match made in Rhody… I mean, heaven. They are just meant for each other. Super cute, too. And did I mention that they are getting married at the end of the month? Well, keep reading to learn a bit more about these two little lovelies {because their story is just as adorable as they are!}…

One of my faves:

Proposal Story:

It was an unusually warm Saturday in March 2009 (March 7 to be exact). We were heading down to our alma mater URI in Kingston, RI to see a men’s basketball game. We were starting to get tight for time but instead of Dan turning down the road towards URI, he continued south to the beaches. It was odd that he was taking me there as he’s not a big fan of the beach…I kept insisting we go back to URI because we were going to be late for the game, but he insisted we stay on track for the beach. I still thought nothing of it :) We got to Galilee Beach in Narragansett where we spent part of our first date (August 4, 2006). We walked around and I was getting antsy because I knew were late for the game by this point. He turned around and asked me where the spot was that we sat on our first date…I pointed to it and he walked me a few feet over to that point, put his hands on my waist and started talking very seriously about our relationship…telling me how much he loved me and he couldn’t imagine his life without me. As he started to reach his right hand into his inner coat pocket, I started to freak out and I immediately knew something huge was about to happen! He pulled out a green box, got down on one knee and said “Kristina, will you marry me?” I felt like the whole world stopped dead in its tracks.. no sound, just us looking at each other and me starting to cry! I eventually said YES after I got a grip on the situation! haha As we embraced each other there was a family with 2 little kids and one of the kids asked his parents what Dan was doing and the mom said “that boy is asking her to marry him”…it was the cutest thing, and we have no photographs of it. It’s just our memory and I think that’s really special. It was such a surprise (and I LOVE surprises), as we had talked about it before but I never really thought he would propose until we were together for at least 3 years (at that point we were together for 2 1/2). I finally found my first full-time job 6 months before that and originally he still wanted to advance in his career before he would propose to me…but in the end, he said it didn’t matter how much money he made, and at what point in our lives we were…he knew I was the one (and all along I knew he was the one too!) and didn’t want to let life get in the way of that.

Kristina, an art major, and Dan, a psychology major, were both working in Tyler Hall at the University of Rhode Island during the Summer of 2006 before their Senior years. Kristina was developing 3-D computer graphics while Dan managed the campus servers at the Help Desk. Kristina would walk past Dan every day..several times a day… and see him looking at her, and eventually they started talking to each other. They went on their first date on August 4, 2006. They saw Talladega Nights (they both love Will Ferrel), shared dinner at 99 Restaurant on Route 2 in Warwick and ventured down to Galilee Beach afterwards…there was a red moon that night and the reflection over the water was so gorgeous!

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They set their wedding date for May 29, 2011…Kristina had just acquired braces in February because she wanted to straighten out her teeth for the wedding she knew she’d someday have…little did she know 2 weeks later she’d be engaged! Setting the date so far out gave them a chance to save up and also look for a house. Late May is also greener in Rhode Island and a somewhat safer bet for weather.

Looking back, the months flew by and they can’t believe they’re getting married in just 12 days! They bought their first home in February 2011 and are just settling in after renovating for 2 months. Getting married AND buying a house is a LOT at once, but so much fun at the same time :-)

Aren’t they just perfect? I kind of can’t get enough!

Yay for pictures on the quad!!

And then back where it all began… Congrats Kristina & Dan - cannot wait to see wedding pics!!