Real weddings: Michelle & Ryan

Jeffersonville, VT

Listen up fellas — and gals. Here’s how you propose: Take a romantic boat ride on the Mekong River, follow up with cocktails at the famous Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh and ...

“We went for a walk in the garden and Ryan proposed,” remembers Michelle.

The couple had worked together for eight years — never dating — but remained friends. They reconnected in New York City, got together and then did the long-distance thing for several years before moving together to Cambodia, where Michelle had taken a job and where they stayed for three years, living, working and traveling.

But Cambodia to Stowe? “We wanted a location that guests would be excited to visit in the winter, and we both enjoyed Stowe from previous trips before we started dating,” Michelle said.

After they moved back to the States (Madison, Wis.), the couple made a “memorable trip” to Stowe to meet all the vendors and have a food and beer tasting with all their wedding vendors.

“We made plans with Savannah to do an outdoor winter adventure photo shoot the day after the wedding,” recalled Michelle. “The photos were so much fun to take even though it was seriously freezing that day!”

A COVID-19 surge moved the wedding to back two months, to November from January 2022, which still allowed Michelle’s 90-year-old grandmother to make the trip, as well as one of Ryan’s groomsmen, who came from Malaysia.

“We had originally planned winter touches of eucalyptus, mulled wine and cozy fur wraps, and were able to still use them all anyway, just with a fall twist,” she said. “Over the course of the planning and actual wedding I think we have now seen Stowe in all seasons, and it is equally beautiful at all times of the year.

“It was such a memorable day filled with love that we will always cherish.”