Captivating Couples 2015
Phoenix, AZ
Gwen, 43, dental hygienist
Ronda, 47, corporate travel agent
"Seriously, our biggest challenge has been our timing," say Gwen and Ronda. "We have always known that we were meant for each other, but circumstances seemed to always keep us from having a relationship." They first met 17 years ago in Alaska, but were both with other people. Then they had a period when they were free, but didn´t want to mess up their friendship. "As the years went by, one of us was ready to commit and the other wasn´t, and it went back and forth like that for years… Thankfully, fate stepped in–we were reunited three years ago, and haven´t spent a moment (besides work) apart ever since," says Gwen. The thing that once kept them apart, their friendship, is now the thing that binds them together. And fate seems to be in their corner this time. Not only was same-sex marriage recently made legal in Arizona, but they also just won a contest to get a free dream wedding, courtesy of the Hotel Palomar in Phoenix! "I used to have a lot of regret about [the years spent apart]," says Gwen, "wishing we would have just been together from day one, but now, as I look back, it was so important for us to have our own life experiences first, so we could be ready to totally commit to the one."
All you need is love!
LINDSAY & MEG
Seoul, South Korea and Hershey, PA
Lindsay, 27, internet sales manager and basketball coach
Meg, 27, ESL teacher and freelance travel blogger
One of the best things about online dating is the way it allows you to expand your circle. That´s how Lindsay and Meg found each other. "At the time, I was living in Brooklyn, and she was living in Hershey," says Meg. "For the first nine months of our relationship, we met up twice a month in a different location. In the first year, we hit five states and three countries." Meg then accepted a job that would have pulled them even farther apart had Lindsay decided not to join her. Soon, though, Lindsay had to return to Pennsylvania for basketball season. "In the end, Lindsay convinced me I should go. . . She told me she knew we were going to be together for the long haul, and being apart for six months in the grand scheme of our entire lives was nothing. Pretty much everyone in our lives suggested we break up, but we knew we wanted to stay together." Besides patience and commitment, respect and communication is vital. "We check in with each other frequently to make sure we´re fulfilling each other´s needs," says Lindsay. Eventually, they plan to elope. "We want to have a small private ceremony in a remote location," she says. "We haven´t decided on a location but we know it´ll be very different from most weddings. We won´t have any cake or tons of guests. [It´ll be] just the two of us, somewhere gorgeous."
