A New York man and his girlfriend got married within two hours of getting engaged, after the groom planned the entire ceremony ahead of time to spare his bride months of stress and trouble of organizing the event herself.
Danny Rios, 33, and Nicole Carfagna, 32, became husband and wife last month in the backyard of their home in Smithtown, New York, surrounded by their friends and family.
The bride suffers from lupus, which can make planning large events such as a wedding especially stressful. She had in the past expressed the wish to throw an engagement party in the backyard and surprise their guests with a wedding, so Danny brought that idea to life—but kept the wedding part a secret for her too.
Moving fast! Danny Rios, 33, and Nicole Carfagna, 32, became husband and wife last month in the backyard of their home in Smithtown, New York, right after getting engaged
Keeping the secret: The groom planned the entire wedding as a surprise to his bride, who suffers from lupus and as a result finds organizing large events especially stressful
Thrilled: Nicole had just returned from a trip to Disney World with Danny for her birthday when she noticed a large tent in their backyard
Nicole’s birthday fell a few days prior, and Danny took her to Disney World to celebrate.
When the time came to fly back home, Danny seemed particularly worried about arriving to the airport on time, Nicole pointed out in a blog post.
But when they landed, the groom successfully made it seem like the night ahead held nothing special for the couple, and simply took his partner to Chick-Fil-A, where they ate in the parking lot.
At that point, Nicole was ready to end the day by snuggling with her dog during a quiet evening at home.
But when she and Danny returned to the house, Nicole was surprised to see their closest friends and relatives gathered in the backyard, where a large tent had been set up.
‘[Danny] took me into the middle of the tent and after saying some amazing things, got down on one knee and PROPOSED!’ Nicole recounted. ‘I was overwhelmed with happiness and couldn’t let go of him.’
Escalating: When Danny proposed, Nicole was already over the moon, but she had no idea what else her partner had planned for the evening
Love: The pair embraced, surrounded by their loved ones, after Danny got down on one knee and popped the question to Nicole, who promptly accepted his proposal
Nicole was already over the moon, and touched to see that some of their relatives had traveled from California, Florida and other parts of New York State to witness the engagement.
But Danny then asked her to come inside with him for a moment, and revealed that this was just part of the evening he had planned.
‘We sat down on our bed and talked for a bit, and then Danny said if we wanted to, we could get married that night and go to bed with me as his wife,’ Nicole wrote.
‘My jaw dropped. He kept saying that we didn’t have to and this could be an engagement party because most people didn’t know about the possibility of a wedding, and he wanted me to be 100 per cent sure.’
Nicole, however, said yes immediately.
‘How could I ever say no to that?!’ she added. ‘I’m NOT good at planning, nor do I enjoy it. Big events sometimes cause me stress because I’m not sure if lupus or any of my other illnesses will get in the way and prevent me from going. The fact that this incredible man planned EVERYTHING for me so I didn’t have to go through wedding planning stress is indescribable.’
Eventually, Danny was convinced that his bride really wanted to go through with his plan, and the pair set out to tie the knot.
Danny had a tuxedo waiting for himself and even a dress for Nicole.
The surprise that keeps on giving: After the engagement, Danny told Nicole that if she wanted to, they could get married right away
Going along with the plan: Nicole didn’t hesitate before telling Danny she wanted to become his wife that very same night, within two hours of their engagement
Celebration: The pair ended up tying the knot during a ceremony officiated by Danny’s father, accompanied by their friends and family
He and Nicole’s mother had gone shopping for the garment together, and settled on a design they both loved.
They purchased the dress in two sized, and Nicole’s mother, who is approximately the same height as her daughter, had it hemmed based on her measurements.
On the night of the wedding, Nicole tried on both dresses, and the smaller size fit her perfectly.
As for the officiant, Danny’s father got ordained as a minister for the occasion. A family friend, who is also a deacon, was initially supposed to marry the pair, but was in the hospital at the tome of the wedding.
Danny’s dad thus stepped up and was the one who told the guests that what had been so far a moving engagement party would become a wedding. Only a few of the guests knew of Danny’s plans, meaning most of them were as surprised as the bride by this announcement.
Nicole then promptly got ready, with help from her mother, who handled her shoes and jewelry, as well as her friends and cousins, who did the bride’s make-up and hair.
We were so intimately surrounded by our family and friends… it was perfect
Danny had picked his best man, and at first Nicole thought she would be too overwhelmed to choose a maid of honor. But her brother offered to be her ‘man of honor’, which the bride happily accepted.
‘The next thing I knew, my Dad was inside ready to walk me down the aisle and my cousin came in to tell me everyone was ready… so there we went,’ Nicole added.
‘We were so intimately surrounded by our family and friends… it was perfect.’
After the ceremony, Nicole got to dance with her new husband as well as her father and mother. Danny’s best man and her man of honor gave their requisite speeches, and Nicole took time to let the night sink in.
‘I found myself at one point sitting in my living room with my godson, his sister and my little brother… in my wedding gown. All I could think was, “This is freaking amazing,”‘ she wrote. ‘”I’m in my wedding dress hanging out with everyone who I love in my HOME. This could not be any more perfect.’
When the bride started feeling tired, around midnight, Danny carried her inside the house. Some of their friends stayed over until about 2am, when the party ended.
‘And just like he said, we went to bed as husband and wife that night,’ Nicole wrote. ‘And everything was absolutely perfect.’
Danny told ABC News that during the planning stages, he kept all wedding-related items in a safe, and admitted that the process turned him into a bit of a ‘bridezilla’.
He hopes his and Nicole’s story shows other lupus sufferers that they can still enjoy milestones despite the disease.
‘We want anyone who has it to know that if you have lupus, it’s a crummy disease but you can still find happiness,’ he said. ‘It’s out there. Don’t stop looking.’