Our Story
Disclaimer
Emily & Gabe believed they could somehow get married without the spotlight. This has been deemed not possible. The following was written by some of those who love them.
*This story is based on true events. Some details may have been embellished for dramatic effect. The feelings, however, are entirely real and thoroughly documented.
Emily, on the hunt.
Back in 2019, our dear Emily arrived home to find an impromptu party of over 50 people already in full swing. Not exactly what she had in mind for the evening. Little did she know that one Gabe Benedetto was among the partygoers — and that fate was about to bring them together.
While Emily was a little annoyed at first by the party upturning her evening, a handsome stranger walked over to chat, and her feelings of frustration melted away.
Gabe, our Wrangler-wearin’ cowboy.
Nothing materialized that evening — but something lingered. Hadn’t her mother always said that a man in Wranglers was a true catch? Maybe, just maybe, she had stumbled upon her very own cowboy.
The baby lovebirds, 2019.
Thanks to Alyssa for capturing this moment!
A while later, they found themselves at the same birthday party — a wine-soaked party bus winding through the countryside. While Emily may claim he hogged the conversation, we have photo evidence that she was loving it!
At one point, our conscientious pair stayed behind to tidy the party bus — and there may have been a playful leg grab somewhere in there, but the wine blurs such details.
Not wanting to rush into anything, they spent the evening mingling with the crowd. But when Emily spotted Gabe charming someone else across the way, she had her roommate run a little friendly interference. It turns out Emily knew exactly which cowboy she wanted.
Gabe walked her home, stole a kiss, and never left.
“The first time Gabe and I ever spoke, it was because he called me to ask permission to take Emily on a trip over my birthday weekend. I was charmed immediately. Just days later, he gave me a vintage cashmere scarf he’d tracked down across five Goodwills. The man does his research. And then some.”
– Merridy, Mother of the Bride, on how she knew Gabe was “the one.”
The Proposal
And if you think Gabe does his research, he met his match in Emily. Perfect teammates, they searched high and low — and all the way to San Francisco — for the perfect ring, then returned it for an even better one. Wedding planning may have been well underway, with landscaping at the Blaser Beachfront and vendors already booked, but “get engaged” was still left unchecked at the top of the to-do list.
Then came a season of hardship. Their beloved Maine Coon, Remus, was suffering from heart failure, and the days were uncertain. The ring sat waiting.
Fate has a way of knowing. On Remus’s first good day home after a string of hospital visits, Gabe held him close, got down on one knee, and together — both of them — proposed to Emily.
