Hazel
& Ni
Captured by Sugar Six Photography
Wedding date: 8/18/18
Venue: Dena’ina Center
Photographer: Sugar Six Photography
Flowers: Alaska Wholesale Flower Market
The Proposal
“Ni and I planned a quick trip to Nome for a weekend in October to surprise her younger sister Taeler on her volleyball senior night. This trip happened to be the same weekend as the Arctic Pinkie's tournament, an annual breast cancer awareness fundraiser. We got to Nome Friday afternoon and I had a last minute LuLaRoe event that evening. Saturday was when the real fun started.
We showed up to the Nanook's games sporting our hot pink outfits in support of the fundraiser, joining the rest of the crowd in the excitement. After the games were over and we had a few hours before the next one, Ni and I decided to go back to her sister's to rest. Even though we were both exhausted from our busy night before and early morning, we couldn't sleep. So, we decided to make the best of our time home and go for a ride.
Once we started driving, we talked about life and oddly enough, our 5 and 10-year plans. It didn't take us long until I recognized that we were close to Ni's grandparents camp. We stopped along the road and contemplated going down to the beach. Of course, I wanted to go see this place Ni talked about in so many memories. It was so nice to finally get to the beach. It reminded me of home. We parked closest to the beach as we could, but we had to walk a ways to get to the camp.
Soon enough, we came upon a little creek that separated us from getting to her camp. It was maybe a foot and a half across, and maybe a foot or so deep. We stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out how to cross it. I was feeling brave, and said we could probably jump across. Ni was a little more skeptical and decided to try to find a log to make a bridge. Well, me feeling rambunctious, and definitely not exercising patience in this moment, decided to go for it. I took a few steps back, ran, and...SPLASH! Ni, still searching for our bridge, turned at the sound of my scream.
The bank along the little creek gave out and I landed right in the middle of it up to my knees. We both laughed as I waded my way to the other side. My Toms and the hem of my hot pink dress were soaked, but I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Ni quickly found her bridge and made it across. We continued along the beach and finally made it to camp. It was nice to finally see this place that Ni talked about often and see her point out things that were part of her stories. We reminisced a few minutes, until we came across some bear tracks in the sand near the cabin, so we decided to start heading back.
On our way back, we stopped to look out into the ocean and that’s when Ni turned to me and held me in her arms. She told me that she had a question she wanted to ask me and I don't know if I even asked out loud or not, "what do you mean?" Then she got down on one knee and with tears in her eyes, reached in her pocket and pulled out a box. "Will you marry me?"
I was shocked as a looked at the sparkling diamond ring. I couldn't believe this was happening. I felt like time stopped; everything was quiet and loud all at once. My heart was racing and my hands were at my cheeks. I don't know how long it took me to say anything, but, of course, I said, ‘Yes!!’"
Best part of the venue: We loved how open and bright the space was! Having the ability to have the ceremony outside on the terrace and then walk into a ballroom for the reception was perfect. We also liked the architecture, it made for some great wedding photos!
Favorite part about the dress: I LOVED the subtle sparkle, especially in the daylight. It wasn’t too flashy or gaudy, it was perfectly me!
Three words to describe the day: Full of LOVE (our wedding hashtag was #BruLOVE)
Your inspiration for your wedding: Well, according to The Knot app, our style is modern with a bit of formal and a touch of luxury 😊
How you met: Ni and I met at work.
