Originally published in Inside Weddings

Lisa Harman and Chuck Wakefield’s bohemian North Carolina wedding was an event 30 years in the making. The two met in 1980 and dated for six months, and although the relationship didn’t work out, Lisa says she never forgot Chuck’s kindness and sweet, gentle nature. Their paths crossed again 30 years later when Chuck reached out to Lisa as a friend. “I was always in love with her and never forgot her after 30-plus years apart,” Chuck says. They began a long-distance friendship, which evolved into love over the course of one year. Chuck proposed by handing Lisa a Taco Bell salsa packet that read, “Marry Me” – and Lisa happily accepted.

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Originally published in Inside Weddings 

Marc Gann and Joey Scaletta say that after they were introduced by a mutual friend, their relationship went nowhere – until they met again a few months later at a watering hole in Baltimore and bonded over Marc’s punk rock t-shirt. This time, the relationship stuck. The two carved out as much time together as they could while Marc completed his surgical residency, then after almost two years of dating, Marc found a job at a hospital in rural Kansas. They continued dating long-distance for the next nine months, seeing each other once every four weeks. But it eventually became clear that they were missing out on too much of each other’s lives, so Joey moved to Kansas in 2008.

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Originally published in Inside Weddings

When Meredith Dulaney and Brian Escobedo met in November 2010 at a country music concert in New York City, you might say it was fate that brought them together. That’s because although Meredith, a Mississippi native, was a country music fan, lifelong New Yorker Brian was not. But when Brian’s coworker offered him a ticket to the concert, he thought, “Why not?” The two ended up hitting it off, and at the end of the concert Brian asked Meredith for her phone number. He called the next day to ask her out, and the rest is history. “New York boy meets Mississippi Delta girl at a country music concert in NYC…who would have guessed!” Meredith marvels.

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Originally published in Inside Weddings

When Jacqueline Salcedo walked into Expo Design Center for her first day of work, Marcus Fernandez spotted her and was instantly smitten. When he realized that she wasn’t a customer, but rather his new colleague, he worked to gain Jacqueline’s friendship, and from there, a relationship grew. “We became best friends and have been inseparable ever since,” Jacqueline says. Fourteen years later, Marcus took Jacqueline and their golden retriever, Lady, to Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles for a romantic picnic. There, he surprised her with two gifts: a cute onesie Jacqueline had been eyeing for their future baby, and a new collar for Lady that featured a tag engraved with the words, “Marry Marcus.”
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