On a late night walk home from the bar, Melanie decided to stop for a late night burrito. Unfortunately some of it ended up on her dress. While looking around around for something to help clean it off, she noticed a guy holding two hot dogs and decided to offer him a trade, 1 hotdog for 1 burrito. They started chatting and Paul insisted on walking her home because he said it wasn't safe to walk home alone so late at night. The connection was there and they continued to chat for the next few weeks as each of them was away visiting family in different parts of the country. Melanie in Alberta and Paul in Port Elgin. To bridge the distance, Paul insisted on having multiple hour long phone calls each night to chat about everything. Looking back, Melanie realized he was probably trying to keep her interested as they had to wait weeks after first meeting for their first official date.
When they were both finally back in Toronto, Paul planned to take Melanie to the Haunted Castle at Toronto’s Casa Loma. When they arrived, even with tickets it was a few hours wait.. so to make the best of the night they went to the classic bar Sneaky-Dees for there famous nachos. After leaving the bar they decided to head over to SPIN to play ping pong until last call. You know a first date is going well, when you stay until closing.
Their shared love of travelling took them to many destinations, from Miami, California, Las Vegas, Jasper, Montreal and more! One of their favourite trips was to the Kentucky Derby. The trip fell on Melanie’s birthday and they had a wonderful time meeting up with family. On the drive back they saw that Kenny Chesney was playing in Albany, New York and got last minute tickets. While at the concert one thing led to another and Paul hoisted her onto the stage to give Kenny a hug! This wasn't her first jump on stage. Previously at a Nelly concert in Toronto, she jumped on stage for some fun. Luckily they had planned their meet up spot for when she inevitably would get kicked out. At a nostalgic spot, the Hotdog stand.
Over the past five and a half years Melanie and Paul built a beautiful shared life together, buying a house, and adopting a cute puppy named Ruby. Who helped them spend 24/7 together over the past year and a half in lockdown as they worked and lived from home. It felt like it was time to take that next step. So in October 2020, Melanie and Paul researched where to get an engagement ring. Melanie knew she didn't want a mined diamond for environmental reasons and was looking at a few other options. When she saw the pear shape on our Instagram story, she instantly fell in love with the design and set up an appointment at our Toronto Store. Wanting to help Paul out with the design process, they had their appointment together, so Melanie could show Paul what styles and shapes she liked best. Once they saw the options together, Melanie let Paul take it from there. He found it really helpful and took some of the pressure off having to figure out the design by himself.
The Proposal:
Paul asked Melanie’s parents to drive from Edmonton, Alberta and his parents came in from Ottawa to be there for the special day. He booked a private boat cruise, as Melanie’s parents had never been on the water in Toronto. When they got to the harbour, the sky was grey and the Captain of the boat told them he had to repair the anchor. Melanie could tell Paul was getting nervous. The Captain piled them all in his van (which had no seats) and drove them to where the boat was docked. Once they were on the water, luckily the sky cleared up and at sunset between the islands with the CN Tower in the back, Paul took Melanie to the front of the boat and got down on one knee and popped the big question. And she obviously said yes!
They have been slowly starting to plan the wedding. With half of their guests in Alberta and half in Ontario they are trying to figure out the best plan. They were even considered eloping in Vegas. They decided to take their first holiday since the pandemic started to Vancouver. They had an amazing trip and fell in love withe the laid back feeling of the city, the beautiful ocean and mountain views, and even shot their beautiful engagement photos with Brit + Ben from Sea to Sky photography. They ended up loving Vancouver so much that they booked their wedding at the Fairmount Vancouver for September 2022!
Congratulations to Melanie and Paul on their stunning engagement! You can follow them on Instagram @retzy02 and @ponomaryov91 We can't wait to see their spectacular wedding next summer and what wedding bands they choose! If you would like to be featured on as one of our amazing couples email chelsea@couple.co
