Out of all the love stories I've heard, ours is by far my favorite.
8 years, 3 months. That's how long we were together before the engagement. I know a lot of people would say that's an eternity to be in a relationship without the officialness, but our timing was ideal for us.
We would always talk about what we wanted our engagement and wedding to look like. I didn't want a grand, public engagement. The thought of that made me cringe. And Milan being...well...Milan, he wasn't going to compromise on the grand part and wanted it to be intentional and thoughtful in the way that it happened.
The first detail to what I like to call, the biggest surprise of my life, was a couples' trip to Venice. This would be the first trip we take, just the two of us, in 5 years. It goes without saying that we enjoy traveling as a family, but those who know, know that a vacation with a kid in tow doesn't always feel like a vacation.
We arrived in the morning to an absolutely stunning walk up apartment. A garden terrace featuring magical views of the Grande Canal, that would later be the backdrop of many late nights and early mornings and eventually, our engagement photos. The interior was adorned with 16th century furniture, setting the scene for a whimsical but romantic feel. It couldn't have been anymore perfect than that. We spent that evening strolling the neighborhood, stopping to watch the gondolas pass under the bridges. A casual dinner at one of the restaurants along the canal by the Realto Bridge, as we bore witness to the fleeting sunset skies. After dinner, we took our time walking back towards the apartment, but not before stopping at the wine bar and ending our night with a bottle on the terrace.
The next morning, Milan went down to the coffee shop and brought us back coffee that we enjoyed, again, on the terrace. Unbeknownst to me, also plotting and confirming what will go down in our history as one of the biggest surprises of my life. He told me that he made reservations at a nice restaurant so "dress nice" and proceeded to cue the music and delivered it to me in the bathroom on a mini speaker as I did my hair and make-up.
I was the only foolish fez wearing heels through the city that day. Had I known we were going to be taking a walking tour, I would've opted for a more comfortable option, but I can't deny how pretty I felt. My love and I, dressed up, hand-in-hand walking in one of the most remarkable cities in the world! And after embarking on a summer of healing for the both of us, I think it would be fair to say falling in love all over again.
Our first stop on this day was lunch at Restaurant Terrazza Danieli, an elegant rooftop dining experience watching boats and water taxis come and go in the Venetian Lagoon. We stared across the waters at the church steeple on San Giorgio's island as a light breeze wrapped us up in fairytale bliss. Though I taunted Milan at the bite sized meals, the food was exceptional. I had never had scallops so good in my entire life. In fact, I had never had scallops before that moment, and let me tell you, so good! The lamb ragu was a close second best.
Buzzing from our lunch-time wine, we took a little walk through the narrow streets browsing shop windows, at least that's what I thought we were doing. In reality it was all apart of Milan's masterplan. We walked and paused every once in a while, peeking into store fronts letting the AC cool us down even for just a second. Out jumped an extremely expressive man who called me beautiful and welcomed me to the city. I had no idea what he was saying, but I thanked him and hurried away.
We walked on over to grab coffee at Caffe Florian Venezia, the oldest cafe in the world. With the infamous San Marco's square serving as the backdrop and before us a well organized orchestra playing classical tunes on piano and violins alike. We sat in the center of the crowded tables and ordered a double espresso for him and a cappuccino for myself. At that moment, a white tuxedo wearing waiter approached us and said "Miss, if you don't mind the band would like to play something for you." When I replay this moment, I feel like I should've known something was brewing, but I was so caught up in the ambience, in the cafe, in the city, in this mood. I confusingly obliged and sat in the moment feeling so full with the love of my life right next to me.
We finished up, and began walking towards the Lagoon, with nowhere really in mind, just walking, again holding hands, beaming from ear to ear. Me from trying to understand how was this my real life and him from his mastermind plan going accordingly. As we continue to stroll, the quintessential Italian man, you know the one, with the hair and everything, approached and asked us to "follow him, he wanted to show us something." I started to tell him no while looking at Milan who was already walking in his direction. That is not like him. Like at all. Reluctantly, I follow suit to a boat almost waiting on us. The man jumped in, turned around, and reached for my hand. "Please watch your step." If I wasn't confused before, now I definitely was! Mostly that Milan was ok jumping into some strange Italian guy's boat. He starts the engine and I lean over to Milan and whisper "he's gonna charge the sh*t out of us for this." I figured he wasn't bothered, so I leaned back in my seat and savored the moment. He pulled up to San Giorgio's Island where we disembarked and he drove away into the distance.
The day was only getting more weird by the minute, and of course I was oblivious under the spontaneity and randomness of it all. I was with my man, what was there to worry about? We stepped down from the taxi port and was instantly greeted by a violinist. I tried to avoid eye contact as to not usher him our way, but it was too late. "Do you like music, Miss? Something romantic maybe?" I chuckled awkwardly as the vibe had now shifted and everything started to feel strange. Internal alarms were blaring but I dismissed them almost immediately. We continued to walk with the violinist not too far behind us. Looking over at Venice, Milan cradling me from behind sharing a story of what he later explained to me to be about love, passion and doing anything for the person you love. But at the time, The Greeks, the horses and cities burning down, wasn't making any sense to me.
So many things were going on around us at one point. A man running for his life, from a dog who was barking, a videographer and photographer ducking in the shadows, are they shooting a movie or something? Then there was this man, down, in front of me on his knee.
Every movement, every sound that was deafening before, ceased.
My chest tightened and I turned away. Suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Panic. Deep breath. Was I tripping? I turned back to him, and indeed, there he was. Handsome as ever and still in the same position. Patiently waiting.
He spoke for a good 2 minutes, I could see his lips moving, but I didn't hear a thing. He reaches into his pocket and that's when it hits me, oh my God, it's happening.
Shocked and in complete disbelief, I start replaying the whole day in my head. He didn't rush me while I was getting dressed, the amazing lunch, the weird guy in the alley, the orchestra, the boat guy with the good hair, the violinist who wouldn't go away and now this camera crew!? How!? When!? And then he whispered "Oh sh*t!" dropping his head in defeat, I looked into his eyes and then we both started laughing...
In the stress of it all, making sure everything was happening as it should, he grabbed the wrong ring box. The box that held the box. A very classic Milan move, not at all apart of his grandiose plan, but in the end turned out to work in our favor because we ended up having to call the boat guy, who whizzed us up the Grande Canal and back to our Airbnb, where we got some epic photos and was able to continue the proposal with a ring this time. Sealing the deal on our once-in-a-lifetime Venice trip.
We popped a bottle of champagne, laughed, cried and tried to piece together everything that had just unraveled in the last few hours. 'Til this day, I find myself staring at him in disbelief, wondering how in the hell he pulled the whole thing off without me even suspecting anything. The planning, the coordinating, the execution. Blown away. Speechless. Amazed. And in awe of how committed and determined he was to do all of that for me. For us.
Back at the apartment, we squeezed in a few more moments. The interior had too many pockets of perfection not to take advantage of in such an occasion. On the terrace we reenacted the "getting down on one knee" but this time, with the ring! Annnd here come all the emotions again. I loved my ring, I loved that moment, I loved the thoughtful details and my perfect gentleman. There's nothing that I would've changed from that day.
Siri play Amazed by Lonestar
Photography Laure Jacquemin
Videography Andrea Rizzo
