Meet Chelsea and Long, our first featured couple of 2019. Beginning as friends who bonded over pumpkins and corn mazes, cheesecake and sports games, and the root of their relationship being within their faith, these two fell madly in love and are continuing their journey together with a wedding set for Fall 2019!
Chelsea is originally from a small town called Salem in southern Illinois, and moved to Wichita, Kansas in 2016 during the final phase of her doctoral program. Long was born in Phan Thiêt, the capital city of the Bình Thuân province in Vietnam. His family moved to Wichita when he was 6 years old, and he has lived there ever since.
They first met after Chelsea began attending the same church as Long after moving to Kansas. Long attempted to get to know her better, but Chelsea and her friends just thought he was trying to get out of work by talking to everyone. Thankfully, Long kept trying, and the couple soon realized they are both goofy and have similar values and interests, and based on these things, it did not take long for them to begin dating.
“Because our faith is at the center of both of our lives, John 15:12 became both the foundation and the goal of our relationship: Love each other as I have loved you.”
Chelsea said, “We invited Long to spend Christmas with us in Branson with my mother’s side of the family, and we planned to spend Christmas Eve exchanging gifts between the two of us privately at the Branson Landing. Unbeknownst to me, Long had ordered my ring and instructed my twin sister to wrap a decoy box for our Christmas together. He also specifically instructed for the box to have something inside it because he was certain I would shake the box.
He was right, and I mistakenly guessed the box contained a body butter I had been eyeing for awhile. We spent dinner discussing our hopes for 2019 and reminiscing. Then, we walked down to the Landing to exchange gifts. After Long opened his gifts, he gave me a Christmas card first. When I opened the card, he had written a beautiful paragraph about our relationship, God’s plan, and his faith in me that had me in tears by the end. Honestly, my only thought after reading that card was, “So help me if this gift is body butter after that card....” He then presented my “gift,” which was actually a shoebox my sister had wrapped for me, with a little note attached to the top of the box underneath the paper because she had guessed he would be proposing.
Long stopped me when I unwrapped the part of the box with the note and told me this was not my gift. He pulled the ring box out of his pocket, and we both began to cry as he talked about our model of love being Christ’s love for us, reaffirmed his love for me, and stated his commitment to me. After he asked me to marry him, we spent some time crying, laughing, and praying together.” They then decided to get some hot chocolate and coffee and on their way, they ran into Chelsea’s family. Sharing that special moment with close loved ones, was the cherry on top of a beautiful proposal for the two of them.
When it came down to the engagement ring, Chelsea was drawn to MiaDonna because of our commitment to ethical, sustainable, and affordable engagement ring options. Chelsea said,”I told Long I did not want conflict-ridden or eco-unfriendly diamonds and metals, I did not want a large ring, and I did not want something that was extremely expensive. After researching, the Diamond Hybrid was the perfect option for my values, and I utilized the Home Try-On option several times, along with my mom and my sister. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved my mom’s ring and the story behind both the ring and my parents’ relationship.
As I began looking for rings, I was continually drawn back to the classic solitaire settings that reminded me so much of my mom’s ring. Just before Thanksgiving, Long told me I needed to pick out a ring so that he would be sure to get something I liked. He assured me he was not proposing anytime soon. I finally narrowed the selections down to the Traditional Solitaire Ring with 3 options from which Long could select. I loved this setting because the design is simple, classic, and very close to the style of my mom’s prong setting engagement ring.”
We can’t wait to continue being a part of Chelsea and Long’s journey together, and we wish them nothing but the best in the many exciting years to come!
