Salvatore’s $20K Wedding Giveaway

Tell Us Why You Should Win: Dave & I met on November 14th, 2015. I vividly remember the day as I had been working events all day and did not want to go out that night. A few of my friends convinced me to join them though for a UFC fight with Rhonda Rousey & Holly Holm fight. It turned out to be a night I would never forget. Dave & I met that night through mutual friends and engaged in conversation about weddings. We had both attended about 7 or 8 weddings each that year and the invitations were still rolling in. He had told me if I 'played my cards right' maybe I could attend this wedding the following summer. I coyly threw back at him that I had a wedding in Chicago and asked if he wanted to come. It was in two weeks. He said yes. Our first actual 'date' was in Chicago two short weeks later where we embarked on a new adventure as strangers. I'm pretty sure we were both absolutely terrified, and our families and friends all thought we were insane for going on this trip together. But somehow, knowing our personalities, they knew it was the most normal thing for us to do. The night prior to the wedding, we had visited Howl At the Moon, Dave's favorite spot. It was that weekend that I believe we both realized we were meant to be together. Fast forward a few years. We started our first business together, Basic Travel Couple, which is a travel blog focused on teaching others how to travel the world utilizing credit card points and miles. We started traveling the world and crossing off a few bucket list items. Then July of 2018 came around and we went to Dave's Dream Destination of Egypt. Standing in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, Dave got down on one knee and asked me to be his travel partner for life. The rest of the trip seemed to be out of a fairytale and we were on cloud 9. We returned home and started to plan our wedding and move forward with the following school year. (Dave works in schools so we can only travel on his school breaks). Along that time I also happened to start interviewing for my absolute dream job, which I was offered a contingent job offer based on the fact that I passed the training. The training was set for May and we had decided to hold off on planning a wedding but to instead purchase a rehab investment property. With the help of our family, we worked on the property to get it back up to living conditions. In April we embarked on another dream destination to Galapagos Islands. A trip that would forever change everything. Dave & I got to scuba dive with Sharks, Swim with Turtles and even were lucky enough to see a Penguin swim by us! Excited for our future and my dream job training coming up, we were enjoying our last days on the island. We decided to go to the Charles Darwin viewpoint dock to see where the "survival of the fittest" truly came to play. Looking out into the sunset over the ocean, Dave & I were chatting and I kind of lost track of where we were for a moment. I was talking and happened to start walking backward, forgetting that there was a missing board piece on the dock.... It was that moment that changed everything. I had stepped back into the missing board pice. My right leg was falling and my left leg caught the other side of the board and promptly catching my fall. We didn't know it at the time, but I had actually just broken my leg in 5 places. April 25th, 2019 was another day I will never forget. It changed everything. My dream job seemed to be fading away. I could no longer walk or function without the support of Dave. 4 legs of flying and 3 days later, we were finally home. I thought my leg would heal in a quick 4-6 weeks, but boy was I in for a huge shock. Monday morning, (4 days after I had broken my leg), I went to a doctor and was put in a FULL LEG CAST. For the next two weeks, I would have to say were the most painful two weeks of my life. I didn't eat. I didn't sleep. I cried daily. Finally, the day came where I was taken out of the FULL leg cast and then put into a short leg cast (so below the knee). That was another 4 weeks. I was getting around on crutches a tiny bit better. I wasn't in as much pain every day. But I can't say I was the nicest person to be around. Regardless, every day, Dave would come home from work, exhausted and tired, but still would take me out of the house. It was the one tiny piece of freedom for a few hours a day that gave me something to look forward to each and every day. After 6ish weeks of being in a cast, they removed it and put me in a 'walking boot'. I was in that for another 4 weeks, and still on crutches. 12 weeks of the entire mishap of being on crutches and casts, I was finally starting to walk again. But let me tell you, it was no walk in the park. Every day was a new struggle but I still managed to move forward and grow and strengthen each day. Somehow, Dave still stayed by my side. I am walking again and even starting to run again. 2019 was probably one of the hardest years of my life, and I honestly am so grateful that I had Dave by my side each and every step of the way. That experience really tested our relationship and proved that he was 100% in for the long hall. For better or for worse. He was there and never once flinched at helping me in my long journey to recovery. I eventually was able to go to training for my dream job, where I am now employed as a flight attendant with JetBlue. The training was a very grueling 4 weeks in another state. After graduating from training, I had to relocate out of state to be on call 18 days out of the month. I am now only able to visit home 12 days of the month, and that doesn't include flying home and back each day to be back on call. Since September, we are able to see each other sometimes once a week. 2019 has been by far the HARDEST and most testing year of our lives. I know 2020 will be magical and I cannot wait to marry the man of my dreams. To have someone stick by your side, for the big and small things, happy and sad, and literally every life event that has happened in between with friends and family has been by far the best gift of all. I cannot wait to marry Dave one day and I really, really hope that it is in 2020. I have always been a huge numbers person and liked even numbers. I'm not exactly sure why, but I DO know that 2020 is the year for us. I also know through all of the trials and tribulations we have had this year (and me being on disability for 6 months), has not been kind to our finances. I cannot imagine my life without Dave, and I really can not wait to be his wife. I know there are so many deserving couples, and I honestly wish everyone the best of luck. I think that everything happens for a reason, but to be a part of Salvatore's wedding giveaway would absolutely be something out of a storytale to end 2020 with forever sealing our vows of commitment to each other. I know Dave and I are meant to be together. I know we have also sacrificed SO much over these last few years and have worked incredibly hard to keep our relationship stronger than ever. There is nobody I would rather be with and I am so incredibly happy to have found somebody as compatible for me as Dave has been. I really look forward to the day we get married and I cannot wait to plan our points-based honeymoon together. I know the honeymoon is possible with points, but the wedding I think will far outweigh the cost of the wedding. We would be forever grateful to all of the wonderful purveyors and sponsors of Salvatore's Giveaway and would be absolutely honored to be the winners of this giveaway. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their families and enjoy a Happy New Year as well. Best wishes to all. Lisa & Dave.