GABRIELLA BIEDINGER - HER LIFE Magazine

herlife | she said yesLaurenandKyleDate of proposal: November 25, 2011by marilyn isaminger | photos by briggs photographyLauren Knapp and Kyle Torska met on a blind date in Novemberof 2010, arranged by mutual friends who thoughtthe two would have something in common. Neither waslooking for a relationship at the time, but agreed to go onthe date nevertheless. The date went well, unexpectedmagic happened, and Lauren and Kyle have been together ever since.Kyle proposed to Lauren on November 25, 2011, during theThanksgiving holiday.Lauren’s parents and brothers traveled to Phoenix for Thanksgivingin order to spend the holiday with her, Kyle and Kyle’s family. Theday after Thanksgiving, both families went out to dinner and then toZoolights, an annual holiday season event of the Phoenix Zoo. Theentire zoo was decorated with Christmas lights and Christmas musicwas playing through all the speakers. In the center of the zoo thereis a very large lake with a small walkway that follows the lake on oneside. The walkway is lined with overhanging trees, and all the treeswere covered with white icicle lights. Kyle led Lauren down the walkway,away from both of their families, and took her to one of the parkbenches facing the lake to enjoy the view. Once both were seated onthe bench, Kyle mentioned that he would like to take a picture of thelights and the lake. One of Kyle’s hobbies is photography, and he hadbrought his camera bag along with him. He got up off the bench, goton one knee, and reached for his camera bag. He unzipped the bag,and instead of pulling out his camera, he pulled out a ring box, whichcaught Lauren completely off guard. The ring caught all of the twinklelights from the trees, making the ring sparkle like crazy. He asked Laurenthe million dollar question, to which she immediately said “Yes!”He slipped the ring on her finger and they went to find their families toreveal the good news.Lauren reveals what she considers special about the couple’s relationship.“We dated for only a year before we got engaged, which mayseem fast to some, but for us it was all the time we needed to knowthat we were meant to be together for the long haul. When you know,you know! On our wedding day, however, we will have been engagedfor over a year and a half, a year of which was spent in a long-distancesituation. Kyle moved to Georgia for his job and I was in Arizona finishingmy bachelor’s degree. Finally being able to be together in the sameplace permanently is truly something for us to celebrate, and is somethingthat we have wanted for a long time.”The wedding is set for June 15, 2013. Lauren and Kyle currentlylive in Georgia, while their families live in Arizona and California. Laurensays, “Because we live so far away, we do not get to see our families asoften as we would like, and it is very rare for everyone to be in one placeat one time. It’s important to us that we are able to enjoy the time we willhave with everyone because it is such an infrequent thing. We also wantto make sure that all of our guests have a good time. This is the happiestday of our lives and we want everyone to share in our joy.”To the future bride and groom, a wedding is more than just acouple getting married—it is two families becoming one. They will notbe doing the traditional ceremony seating, with the bride’s guests onthe left and the groom’s on the right. Since everyone will be one family,Lauren and Kyle feel that everyone should sit together as one familywould. Also, since Kyle was in a fraternity during his college years, allof his brothers will be serenading Lauren with their “sweetheart song” atthe reception, a tradition that is very meaningful to Kyle and sure to bevery entertaining to all of their guests. ■64 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM