Written by Mia Berard
Meet MiaDonna featured couple Michael and Susie! The lovely pair has been together for two years and currently resides in Escondido, California. After serving in the young adults’ group at Marantha Chapel for a few years, Susie unexpectedly met Michael. She asked her friend to introduce her and the rest is history!
Michael originally led Susie to believe he wouldn't be proposing to her until 2017. So when her birthday came around in December of 2016 and he surprised her with 25 gifts, a ring was not what she was expecting. Michael planned a day-long birthday surprise for the two of them only telling her to bring a jacket, beanie and hiking boots. Susie knew they would end up at their favorite hiking spot, Idyllwild. After lunch, Susie began to receive gifts 1 through 16. Some were cheesy and cute (like a quarter), others were extremely meaningful (like the lyrics to a song Michael first heard when they met), and some were just awesome (like 25 printed cardstock pictures of their journey thus far).
On their way to Idyllwild, Susie got carsick and asked Michael if they could turn around and head back home. However, while maintaining his cool, Michael insisted the two keep going and promised he would stop to get her some medicine. Once they reached their destination, Susie saw Michael pull out his guitar. He casually mentioned how he thought it might be nice to sing together at their favorite spot. As the couple hiked, Michael was recording them as he asked her questions like, “when did you know you wanted to marry me?” Susie still had no clue at this point. Once they got to their rock, a blanket was already laid out and Michael instructed Susie to sit down as he played a song he had written for her (gift #17). As he began to play the melody, tears rolled down Susie’s face. The beautiful song was inspired by the story of Adam and Eve.
As Michael came to the end of the song, he pulled the engagement ring from his guitar case, got on his knee and asked her to marry him. Shocked and in utter disbelief, Susie could not believe that she was staring at the rose gold ring she had dreamed about for years. She cheerfully nodded yes and in that very moment Michael’s friends popped out of the bushes and began taking pictures.
In searching for the engagement ring, Michael wanted to find a style that Susie would love, through a company that had a purpose and mission they could agree with. After some research, he came across MiaDonna and found it to be the perfect fit. What’s even better is Michael’s discovery of the Tigerlilly Engagement Ring, perfect as “TigerLilly” was the nickname he had given to Susie while they were dating (her name also means ‘lily’ in Hebrew). With all these telltale signs, Michael knew this was the perfect ring for Susie.
Here comes the bride… As the days leading up to the couple’s wedding day approached, the anticipation and excitement began to overwhelm them. The couple poured their hearts into every single detail of that day. From the tiniest of decorations, to the wedding invitations, to the guest book table, to the flowers, everything had a meaning behind it. Susie and Michael favored the detail of rose gold in their wedding as they found it represented love. The atmosphere, everything within them, was filled with pure joy. Just as quickly as the day came, the day went. But the happy couple was reassured knowing it was just the beginning of one heck of an adventure!
