The Knottie of the Week Is.. Vanessa!!

FaithCaitlin · January 2012

1. First Name & Fiance's First Name  Vanessa & Evan

2. Your Age and Fiance's Age 30, 28

3. What city were you born in?  Miami

4. What city do you live in? Boca Raton

5. Where did you go to college? University of Miami (Go Canes!)

6. What was your major?  Art & Education

7. What is your current job?  Donor Relations & Stewardship for a university

8. What is your dream job? Something artsy

9. How did you and your fiance' meet? I went with a friend to an event in Tampa. My fiance was there promoting his company. We met, spent the entire time talking and we've been inseparable since...that was 7 1/2 years ago.

10. When did you get engaged, and how did he do it?? August 2010. He proposed at the top of the empire state building.

11. When is the Wedding Day?  February 25, 2012

12. Where is the ceremony and reception?  Spanish River Library

13. What are your wedding colors?  Purple & Silver

14. Where are you honeymooning?  Europe

15. Favorite wedding vendor so far?  My DOC!! Danielle Pearson.

16. Biggest wedding splurge? No big ticket items that I personally paid for, I'm pretty frugal. lol

17. What is something you wish you could have at the wedding but don't? Besides certain family members. I wish I could have a videographer.

18. Another Knottie whose wedding you'd like to attend? I can't pick just one. I'd love to share the day with any one of you.

19. Favorite book? The Great Gatsby

20. Favorite movie?  Serendipity

21. Favorite tv show? Parenthood

22. Favorite wedding dress designer?   Monique Lhuillier

23. Any advice you can give to other Knotties whose big day is coming up?  Trust your instincts when it comes to vendors. Just because they are a popular name on the board, doesn't mean you will gel with them.

24. Is there anything you wish you could change about your wedding? No.

25. Tell us your Knottie name and how you came up with it VanLu26. "Van" are the first 3 letters of my first name, "Lu" are the first 2 letters of my middle name and 26 is my favorite number.

26. Tell us about yourself! I'm a green tea drinking/roller coaster junkie/tv show addict/music lover.

FaithCaitlin · January 2012

I love that your dream job is doing something artsy!

Your proposal location is pretty awesome!! Go Evan!

I cannot wait to see your wedding! The library is such an awesome location and I bet it will be gorgeous all dolled up!

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorites too- can't wait for the movie with LEONARDO!

efont · January 2012

Love the Great Gatsby. The book was awesome & so was Robert Redford.

Your propsal must have been awesome! How exciting!! And about the video, I got mine just less than a month before our wedding. You never know, it can still happen.

Priya490 · January 2012

Wow, how exciting, you're so close! I love your romantic proposal!

carl4252003 · January 2012

love it !!!! .... getting so close ... YAY!

RaquelS · January 2012

Aw such an awesome proposal - one with a view.

Nice getting to know you.

VanLu26 · January 2012

Thanks!! Here's the more detailed story about the proposal.

After returning from a weekend trip in Orlando, I received a call from Evan who was away on business. He told me that he had just purchased an airline ticket so that we could see each other on the last leg of his trip. I was elated as the Orlando trip was originally something we had planned to do together until he got called away on business. The next day, I got on a plane headed to New York.

When I arrived, a car was there to pick me up and take me to the hotel. I had been to NY many times before but there was no chance I knew where I was headed. We arrived at the Gansevoort in the meatpacking district – one of the most beautiful hotels I had ever seen! Evan greeted me at the door and took me up to the room.

He said he wanted to take me somewhere so I quickly changed my clothes and we were out the door. We walked a few blocks to a place called “The High Line” – an elevated freight line that was converted into a NYC park.

Our nature walk was proceeded by a cab ride to the Empire State Building. Of all the times I had been to NY, I had never been to this building and for a huge Sleepless in Seattle fan it felt somewhat sacrileges, but I digress.

I went to stand in line for tickets only to find out that Evan had already purchased our tickets! We bypassed all the lines with our express passes and headed right to the top.

The place was crawling with people but we managed to find a quiet area where we could just talk and enjoy the view. It was at that moment that Evan said those magical words “I have something to ask you…” My heart started beating a mile a minute...and then he asked me to marry him. I was in such shock that I regret the first words I said (“Oh my gosh shut up”), but anyone that knows me knows that I say things like that when I’m surprised. I quickly said “Yes!” and well the rest as they say is history.