Featured Bride, Kendra S. Wedding Location: Dakota Lodge, West Saint Paul, MN | Wedding Date: June 2013 We have a new Featured Bride to introduce to My Wedding Chat! Kendra is marrying Antonio in June 2013. As is Featured Bride tradition, she’s adding to our ever-growing collection of adorable love stories. Take it away, Kendra!

Kendra and Antonio the night they were engaged!

We never get tired of proposal stories! Here’s another one featuring real bride, Kendra!

Most couples have a cute romantic story of how they first met. My story does not exactly scream romance (at first). The first time I met Antonio was while I was chopping onions in the kitchen of a Mexican restaurant. Yes, we met each other while working at a burrito shop. I was immediately drawn to him, although I swore we were “just friends.” I worked at the restaurant for a summer job in between semesters and was not looking for a romantic commitment. We spent many of our summer nights hanging out, talking about anything and everything, and he quickly became one of my best friends. I headed back to school at the end of the summer and Antonio enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Those weeks while he was in basic training, he was always on my mind, and I soon realized that he was much more than my friend.

What’s not to love about proposal stories?

Kendra and Antonio

Antonio came home to Minnesota on leave. The days flew by, as they notoriously do when we are together, and New Year’s Eve 2011 was upon us. We only had a few more days before Antonio had to fly back to North Carolina, and he was determined to make it an amazing night. Antonio set up a horse-drawn carriage ride in downtown Saint Paul with late-night dinner reservations at the Saint Paul Grill. While on the carriage, all I could think about was how happy I was to finally be together. When you are seldom able to see one another, you realize how precious time is. Gazing around the city, cuddled under a blanket while huge snowflakes were coming down, I was in awe at the beauty of the night. I exclaimed, “I bet a lot of people get engaged on these carriage rides!” completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

What’s better than great love stories? A great love story featuring a real bride, that’s what!

That was Antonio’s cue. He said, “If I were to propose, I would say…” but I quickly stopped paying attention after those words came out of his mouth. I told him to stop teasing me because it was not funny to joke around about something so serious. Soon enough, he pulled out the ring. I was in complete shock and could not muster out anything but “Shut up! You are not serious!” (Oops!) The moment just seemed too good to be true. Did I really just happen to mention proposals, without a thought in my mind that I, too, would be engaged on a carriage ride? After a minute or two, I realized that I had not yet said “Yes!” Poor guy, this was probably not how he pictured the proposal. Needless to say, I finally blurted out “Yes!” and soon enough I was officially engaged to my best friend. It took quite a while for the shock to wear off, but let’s just say that was the best New Year’s Eve I have ever had.