Love Stories | Sydney and Kristina
sydney & kristina.
tell us a bit about you and your love story!
Sydney: We met at Pride in 2015 through Kristina's ex who was dating my friend at the time. We became friends on the spot and very quickly that developed into a bond that we both knew was special. After two years of everyone asking us why we weren't dating, I half jokingly told one of our good friends it was because Kristina Marchiori isn't the kind of girl that you date just to date, she's the kind of girl you date to marry. That friend, without missing a beat, asked me what I was going to do when someone else dated her to marry her then. The rest is history. I knew from the minute I met Kristina that she was the kind of person who lights up every room she walks into, the kind of woman who is sunshine on a rainy day and jumping in puddles and dancing in the kitchen at 3am in front of the open refrigerator. It took me a year and a half to get the courage to believe that she might feel that way about me too, but from the first time I met her, I knew I wanted her in my life forever.
Kristina: We met at Pride! We've been together for 6ish years, depending on when you ask us. I knew it was forever when Sydney washed my hair while I was dealing with some pretty extreme pain. Then she moved me to Kingston and stood by me while I did my Masters program. Two years of long distance and I knew I was done for. Plus she was on board for getting two cats with me - so she's in it for the long haul. She brought me to her family's campground and I got to meet her extended family and I fell in love with them too. I've since found out that she leaves her socks everywhere and that's a detail I wish I knew sooner but... yeah I know, she's cute, so we'll let it slide.
when and how did you pop the question, or when did you know you wanted to make your love official?
Sydney: So I planned my proposal for almost a year. For Kristina's birthday/graduation present I got us passes to the International Balloon Festival in Montreal, which had been on Kristina's bucket list since she was 10 years old. A few days before we left, we "ended up" getting manicures as a special treat for ourselves. We went away for the weekend and I had to hide my phone from her because I am absolutely the worst at keeping secrets, so to survive not telling her for a year, pretty much everyone we knew and wanted to send their well wishes and excitement to me! The first morning we were there - approximately 30 hours from when I'd been proposing to her, we were standing in line at McDonalds waiting to get breakfast when she made a joke about how girls always have their nails done when they post their engagement rings. She turned and looked at me and said "Did you take me to get my nails done so you could propose this weekend?" I nearly had a heart attack before very smoothly playing it off, telling her it was cute she thought I'd be able to keep a secret that big for three days. She laughed and admitted that was totally true - there was no way I'd be able to propose without giving up the surprise first. So, while we were squirrelled away in Montreal, one of our best friends was in my apartment setting everything up.
I'd built an A-Frame tent and we got a white sheet with a lace border to cover it. I'd printed every photo from our boudoir shoots and from our adventures in the three years we'd been together and hung them around the room with fairy lights and letters that we'd written to each other while Kristina was in Kingston for school. I'd bought Veuve and gotten SJ to sweet talk her Italian boyfriend's Nonno into giving us some of his home made meats for a charcuterie board that was set up in the tent. Add in about 100 candles and a playlist I'd been building for a year and you've got the scene. SJ got a text when we left Montreal and her and her Mom broke into our apartment and set everything up while we made the drive back to Toronto. SJ had been keeping the engagement ring at her apartment for the three months between me picking it up and me proposing - which was necessary because not even 6 hours after picking it up I almost showed it to Kristina by accident over Facetime. So we drove back to Toronto, and 5 minutes away from our house I made us stop at a Starbucks and told Kristina she had to pee there because she needed to wait in the car while I dropped our bags off so we could return the jeep we had rented. I told her that once she saw our cats she'd want to sit and play with them and we just wanted to get everything done!
Finally, we made it home and I sent her in ahead of me. She walked into our room and instantly started crying, and when she turned back to me I was down on one knee with her ring. She asked me three times if I was kidding and then said yes!!!
“Honestly I think I walked into Anice for the first time and fell in love. There was no question about who would make our rings.”
-Sydney
how did you learn about and decide on Anice to create your love piece(s)?
Honestly I think I walked into Anice with a friend who I worked with on Ossington for the first time and fell in love. There was no question about who would make our rings. Anice has been part of our love story from the start. We've celebrated every milestone, every anniversary, every little “just-because,” with a love piece from Anice. We've got more rings than fingers, earrings for every occasion and a necklace for every outfit. We both have some custom pieces and some stunning one-of-a-kind finds and they're all as much a part of who we are as our big ol' lions manes of hair!
what was the inspiration behind your love pieces?
Kristina's engagement ring is intertwined bands, stronger together than apart. It has two white sapphires we harvested from a ring that my Grandmamere bought for herself to celebrate her independence. We used two more white sapphires from the same ring inside my wedding band, which has the same dual band twist - just a little thicker. We wanted pieces that symbolized the twists and turns that life takes, and how it can all be conquered with your partner. Using my Grandmamere's ring was a really special touch, and I'm thrilled that we got to do that.
how did you feel when you finally received your love piece?
Sydney: Like the sun was shining full on inside of my chest.
Kristina: Full of love and happy tears for days.
describe your first impression of working with us. who did you work with and what was the process like?
From the start, we knew we were in good hands. Though Kristina wasn't in on the planning until after the proposal - she's been a part of designing our wedding bands. We've had the help from the whole Anice team at one point or another during our process. All Love. All magic. All glitter, all the time.
what was the most memorable part of working with Anice?
The love and care that the team put into our love story. We're forever thankful to the whole jewel squad.
is there anything else you would like to add?
Anice is one of those magical places that you stumble into by accident and become life long customers. We constantly recommend going here for any jewel needs. We've hosted friend's birthday parties with a workshop, popped bubbly on a sunny Saturday and enjoyed all the best parties with the jewel babes. We love you all so much!
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