We're Getting Married

Cupid didn’t strike right away though. Vanessa and Hernan became good friends over about two years. Hernan liked her sense of humor and the fact that he could be himself around her. Vanessa liked that he made her laugh and kept things interesting. Slowly they started seeing more of each other but with other friends, and still as friends.

As to the first official date? That remains a mystery because neither one remembers but the first kiss happened in April 2016. From that moment on, they continued building their strong, loving relationship. Both Vanessa and Hernan say that love just sort of happened… “I knew she was the one when she finally knew what she wanted to eat,” Hernan joked. “LOL, just kidding. She still doesn’t know.” He does continue to say that every time he hugged her, he felt at peace.

Most of Hernan’s friends and family had already met Vanessa before they started dating and they liked her personality. The fact that she made him happy did not go unnoticed by Hernan’s Mom and friends. Vanessa slowly introduced Hernan to her friends, not wanting to rush into something too fast. “It took me a while to admit it was something more serious,” she said. “My mom was super happy when she found out there was someone, it was before she even met him in November 2016.”

Hernan and Vanessa enjoy traveling together, watching series and movies on TV, spending quiet time, taking drives around the city, and eating out. As to any funny habits, Hernan says that Vanessa leaves her shoes all over the place. He’s not sure if he finds that funny or frustrating. Vanessa loves that Hernan makes it a point to make her laugh when he sees that she’s down.

Vanessa and Hernan moved in together in January 2020 once it became clear that they were more together than apart. This brings us to 2021 when Hernan started toying with the idea of proposing and imagining them spending the rest of their lives together.

Next, the fiancée-to-be went shopping for the perfect ring for the perfect woman. The salesperson at the jewelry store asked Hernan what Vanessa’s style was. “She likes to be unique but doesn’t like to stand out,” he told her. She responded that that doesn’t make sense. He replied relieved, “Thank you! And she says that she’s not complicated”. After sleeping on it, Hernan went back for the ring he put on hold the previous day.

At some point in early December, Hernan remembers Vanessa saying that it would be fine with her if they didn’t exchange Christmas gifts since it could be stressful coming up with ideas. He agreed and that was that, he thought… Then came the glitch in the planning on Christmas eve. Vanessa did get Hernan a Christmas gift while he got everyone a gift except Vanessa. She was upset, feeling like she wasn’t a priority to him.

Christmas day Hernan decided to move up the proposal, he was worried that Vanessa would cancel the trip. He asked Vanessa if she could help him with something in his office. When she finally walked into the room, she found Hernan down on one knee. All emotions came out at that moment and after several minutes of crying, she said YES.

You can say they both ended up surprising each other and affirming their love in the process. Their trip to St. Augustine and Savannah ended up being wonderful. As we say in Papiamentu, “nada un ta pasa por nada,” in English it translates to “everything happens for a reason!”

Vanessa and Hernan can’t wait to celebrate with you at their wedding in Colombia in October of 2022. See you soon!