We recently had a fun newlywed couple come to us with a GREAT engagement story. Ever think about proposing to your loved one with a flash mob in the middle of the Las Vegas strip followed by a small Maui beach wedding? We love it!
“Here is our story…
I met John several years back at a pet store that we worked at. I was going in to purchase dog food and treats for my two labs and chose this mom and pop pet store (since I love to support local stores.) From there it was love at first sight, a firefighter (myself) and a pet store manager lol. Neither of us were “out” at the time so it took us a while to finally come out to our friends and family, sharing our relationship and who we truly were.
Several years later, when we traveled to Las Vegas so I could run the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon, I set up a flash mob proposal in front of our family and friends along with everyone on the Vegas strip. John was totally shocked and everything was perfect.
Then a year later while planning our wedding, gay marriage at the time wasn’t legal in our home state of Texas and we knew Texas would be one of the last states to approve it, so we had to think of a place that was important to us. We also knew that once Texas approved same-sex marriages we still couldn’t have our friend pastors marry us in our own church because Methodist in our conference still don’t approve.
So back in 2013, after we both come out, we took a family cruise to all the Hawaiian islands and really enjoyed Maui the most. Thats when we decided that Maui was the place we wanted to get married at. On 09/24/16, twenty of our close friends and family flew to Maui to witness John and I share our “I do’s”. Our wedding was held on Palauea Beach on a gorgeous sunny day. It was truly amazing and something that neither of us will ever forget. We had come a long way in our relationship, and our lives, to finally join as one.
Maui will forever hold a place in our hearts and our marriage and we can’t wait to return to such a beautiful island!”
Jason & John Barron-Ethridge
Spring, Texas
Photos by Tim Clark at Hawaiian Island Weddings.
