How We Met
Stav and I met briefly in our native island of Kalymnos, Greece during the summer of 2014. He’s from Ohio, and I’m from Montreal, Canada, though we have a lot of mutual friends that vacation there every summer who introduced the two of us. He quickly added me on Facebook upon his return to the United States and that was the only we kept in touch. Fast forward a year later, we found ourselves in Kalymnos once again. I had my eye on Stav, and told myself I would make a point of talking to him when I got there. There was just one small issue: Stav was leaving the day after I got there. I still wanted to talk to him, so I mustered up the courage to go up to him that night. We ended up making jokes and laughing and dancing all night. There was an instant spark and something drew me to him, I couldn’t explain why, I just felt like it was meant to be. The next day, he left and I wasn’t sure if I would even see him again. He sent me a picture we had taken together the night before through Instagram and we exchanged numbers. We were both hesitant when we were texting at first, since we lived so far apart, however after a few weeks we started speaking everyday about everything and anything. We even joked we would get married one day, who would have thought! We kept saying how much we wanted to see each other, so two months after we started talking I flew down to Ohio. I was so nervous, as was he, but as soon as we laid eyes on each other at the airport, all the feelings we had from when we were in Greece came right back. We knew we wanted to be together despite the distance. We started travelling every month to see each other, and we’ve been together ever since!
how they asked
Last Christmas, we decided we would spend it together in Ohio. I flew into town with my mom and grandma. I was so excited, but I was a little upset I wouldn’t be spending the holidays with the rest of my family. We spent the days leading up to Christmas running around & shopping for last minute gifts. On the eve of Christmas Eve we threw our annual ugly sweater party with all of our friends and family and we had a blast! This was going to be an unforgettable Christmas, I thought to myself (little did I know!). The day of Christmas Eve was hectic. Everyone seemed jittery, and I had no clue why. That evening we all got ready to go to mass, and we decided that after church we would come home and each open one gift. The Christmas Eve mass was so beautiful, I felt so happy being all together on such a beautiful night. After church was done, Stav hurried me off into the car and said we had to rush home to open our gifts. He sped home and when we got there his two best friends covered my eyes, led me into his living room and sat me down in front of the television. In that moment, my heart was racing and I knew something big was about to happen. Stav told me to open my eyes and when I did, the most beautiful video of all our moments together started playing. At the end of the video it said to “Turn Around” and when I did I was so surprised to see my family from Montreal as well as his entire family standing behind us. I almost fell to the floor I was in such shock! Stav then got down on one knee (he was shaking!) and asked me to marry him to which I answered YAAAA (lol!). After I said YES, the craziest thing happened; the bottle of champagne on the counter popped all by itself. It felt like a sign from my late father congratulating us from up above. We were all so emotional in this unforgettable moment, I cried for what felt like an eternity (goodbye eyeliner) and I Facetimed all of my friends and family back home to tell them the amazing news. Christmas was already my favorite holiday, but now it holds such a significance as one of the best days of my life! Stav and I can’t wait to get married this July where it all began in Kalymnos, Greece, at the church Stav’s great-grandfather built, named The Stavro & Agios Dimitris, which is both our names (definitely a sign!).
