N’tima & Steven’s Love Across the Sea

March 18, 2011

How are your emotions doing today? because I’ve got a wedding to share that will probably make you blub…there is just so. much. love right here!

N’tima & Steven’s love blossomed across the sea. The bride explained, “We lived in Okinawa, Japan when we met. He was 16, I was 14. We were kids. We were neighbours. We both were kinda dating people on & off here in America, so we were just friends.You see, my family had orders to be shipped to California in June. It was April, and Steven and I were starting to get close. We exchanged numbers, and everything moved so quickly after this point. Every day before I moved was spent falling in love with this beautiful boy. Although we denied it, and being together was scary to us. Distance obviously hadn’t worked previously, so we decided we’d be just friends. Everyone around us knew we were ridiculously in love, but we kept telling each other that we had to stay friends.”

“On May 26, 2008, Steven told me that he loved me, and that he would rather ‘try & fail with us, than not try at all.’ So June 6, 2008, I moved away, and we made the distance work for us. We lived through web-cam dates & 17 hour time differences. I visited November of that year, and April of 2009. By the end of 2009, Steven had joined the air force. He was sent to Basic & we lived through letters for 8 1/2 weeks. I visited for his graduation. He was then sent to Tech school across the country for four more months. I visited for Christmas. In January of 2010 he was sent to live 2 hours away from me here in California, completely by chance. How much luckier could we be, eh?”

“In May of this year, he proposed. We were riding the country roads in his 1977 pick up truck. He parked on the gravel road next to where we had carved our names into the bark during a previous visit. It was sunset, and the sun was sinking behind the mountains. He was holding me in the bed of his truck when he started a slew of compliments and promises & seconds later I look down and he’s holding my left hand in his lap with his right & a gorgeous ring with his left. And then he asked me to “please marry him.” I, clearly, and without hesitation, said “yes!”

Their DIY wedding was held at Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Salt Lake City, Utah. N’tima’s Grandpa performed the ceremony and her Grandmother was her matron of honour. She wore a vintage dress which she’d found in a thrift store and her Grandmother altered it for her. She hand-dyed her cute-as-hell peach pumps herself on the hotel stove the day before the wedding and wore these with cream patterned tights which she bought from Target.

I literally can’t get over how awesome and adorable this couple and their wedding are. I am so honoured that I get to share it with you today. Be sure to check out the beautiful video’ too (but get those hankies out – it’s a tearjerker…)

Photography & Video Credit: Made You Look Studios
Venue: Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Salt Lake City, Utah
Bride’s Dress: Vintage
Bride’s Veil: Beautiful Blossoms on Etsy
Cake: DIY (Gift)
Flowers: DIY (Gift)
Bridesmaid Dresses: Modcloth & Forever 21
Favours: Home-made Jam