The Future Johnstons | April 6, 2024
The Wedding Weekend
Friday, April 5 to Sunday, April 7, 2024
We are delighted to invite you to the celebration of our marriage
We cannot wait to spend the weekend with you in celebration of this next chapter in our lives.
Ceremony
Saturday, April 6th, 5 p.m. | Balmoral Event Center
116 Kenny Blvd, Haines City, FL 33844
Reception
Saturday, April 6th, 6 p.m. | Balmoral Event Center
116 Kenny Blvd, Haines City, FL 33844
Our Love Story
Christian and Aaliyah met through their work at Northwestern Mutual. In early 2018, after having recently graduated from Auburn, Christian ultimately decided that Florida was where he wanted to be and connected with the firm out of Clearwater to start his career. At the same time, a role in the same Clearwater firm opened and Aaliyah accepted the position. Some might call it fate, but this was just the beginning of God aligning their paths, though they did not know it at that time.
That year, they would attend numerous events and talk in passing which would be the start of building their friendship. In August of 2018, after attending a work event together, Christian heard Aaliyah was looking for a new place to stay and offered the extra room in the house he was staying in. A gesture, he later admitted he wasn't sure why he made, as they were still in the early stages of their friendship. Now both, working and living together, they built an incredible bond as friends. Some of their best memories, always include either their pup, Bailey, whom they raised together as friends, or Milo, whom they adopted in 2020, also as friends. After going through the pandemic and only becoming closer, it was clear to everyone, though Christian and Aaliyah wouldn't admit it, that they acted as a couple but nothing was official. On Father’s Day of 2020, after hanging with Aaliyah’s family, Christian finally gathered the courage to ask if Aaliyah would be up to giving them dating, a try. She, of course, agreed, as even she couldn’t deny that they had an undeniable connection.
Another favorite memory had to be the story of Christian telling Aaliyah he loved her for the first time. At Tampa, annual Gasparilla parade in 2021, Christian and Aaliyah, though it was still mid-pandemic, decided to partake in a bar crawl with a few other friends. A few bars in, Christian finally had the liquid courage to tell Aaliyah what was on his mind. While in a moment of privacy, he leaned in and exclaimed “I Love You”. Aaliyah quickly returned the statement, as she too had been thinking of her love for Christian and the life they were building.
I think the moment they knew they would be spending the rest of their lives together was in 2022. After many talks about what the future would hold and what life looked like together, they ultimately made the decision to purchase a home together and this became official in August 2022. Some might say the relationship was filled with doing many things in an unconventional order, but there is no denying that destiny led them to get to where they are today.
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The Proposal
Christian surprised Aaliyah on her birthday in 2022 by planning a day that included going to look at engagement rings. His next step was to get Aaliyah’s parents' approval. He started with her mom, Renee, on a family trip to Trinidad in March 2023. Then, he asked her dad, Anthony, while at another family member's wedding in July. They both, of course, approved, which is ultimately when the planning began. Having already picked the ring, Christian wanted to find the perfect addition to their family to surprise Aaliyah when he popped the question. After months of searching, he found Stormy! Now having both of the most important elements secured for the proposal, he invited all of their family and friends to share in the surprise on September 30th, 2023.
A few weeks before the proposal day, Christian had their friends invite them to a “Work Charity Event”. Unbeknownst to Aaliyah, this was just a cover for the proposal. The morning of the proposal, after having a long week at work, Aaliyah was not up for an event of any kind. Much to Christian’s dismay, just a couple hours before the event she just wanted to nap. With only two hours until he was to pop the question, he had to get her up and excited to go to this event. Promising they would only go for a bit, she finally got going.
While awaiting their friends to arrive, Christian asked if Aaliyah wanted to go check out the sunset. As they walked to the beach, Aaliyah had no idea what was to come. Even while walking toward the beautiful proposal display, Aaliyah thought surely that was for someone else. Until Christian reassured her it was for them and that's when shock set in. Walking down the beach to a pathway of flowers and candles, that led to a Marque sign that spelled out “Marry Me” with an arch in the middle and in a basket at the end of the walkway was Stormy, the most beautiful Australian Shepard puppy.
After they both embraced the puppy, Christian grabbed Aaliyah’s hands and pulled her toward the arch. That’s when he got on one knee and asked Aaliyah “Will You Marry Me”. She, of course, said “Yes’. Then their families, came out of hiding from all around the beach, again, much to Aaliyah’s surprise. The surprises didn't end there, after walking to the rooftop of the BelleWeather hotel, there was an entire party filled with the rest of their friends and family waiting to celebrate with them. They partied the night away, enjoying celebrating their engagement surrounded by so many loved ones.
