For our Royal Wedding Week, we asked for people who were willing to tell us all about their very own perfect weddings. In this case Leah and Chloe both asked if I’d share a bit about my story of how I happened to “find my own prince” and how exactly he “convinced” me he was the one for me. Being the romantic fool that I am I couldn’t resist! So, without further hesitation on my part, “How Danielle ended up with her very own Prince Charming”…
It was your typical kind of boy meets girl, girl finds a new guy, girl dumps old boy and leaves him standing on the doorstep to go off with new guy situation. Okay, maybe not so typical, but at the time it didn’t matter to me because I was the roommate who found the boy on the doorstep. He was heartbroken and convinced he was doing everything wrong because technically they should have had a very happy relationship. Well, he didn’t know my roommate and thankfully for me, I was there to help pick up the pieces.
After a very lengthy chat that evening, a Christmas holiday apart, an unexpected New Years Eve kiss and many late night phone conversations I finally convinced this young man (aka “My Knight in Shining Armor”) to go on a date. After sitting through almost the entire movie, Save the Last Dance, with hand in lap and no hope of being held I had almost given up. Little did I know this was the first date of many to come in a very long and happy relationship.
Having rarely been around a young man who opened doors and paid for meals, it was a bit of a shock to the system during those first few months of dating. He was (is) polite, conscientious, kind, thoughtful and absolutely romantic. My hubby would do things like steal the keys to my Volkswagen Beetle and pack it full to the brim with red and pink balloons for Valentine’s Day the night before. He’d remember favorite music, movies and treats I loved only to share them with me when I was least expecting it. The most surprising was a story I’ve mentioned before when he hid an entire suit under a “normal” outfit he was wearing, blindfolded me and took me to a picnic by a canyon river we used to frequent. Incredible.
Now, knowing all these things, you’d expect the next step would have been to either move in together or get married. Well, we did neither. Instead both of us went our separate ways, spending two years apart from each other serving missions for our church. On top of that, our only form of communication for the entire two years was handwritten letter! I know, to many of you it may sound antiquated and old, but looking back on those memories I have nothing but fondness for that time. He lived in Mexico during that time with me still in the US and often the mail was delayed. There were times I went two or three months without hearing a single word, it was excruciating, but when the letters arrived (often with five or six in an envelope) I’d be overjoyed. I still keep both of our letters to each other in a box that also includes our photographs and memories of each other, it’s one of my most cherished possessions.
Not only was the time apart romantic in many ways, it also cemented our feelings for one another. Soon after our return, he proposed at a cabin his Uncle owns in the mountains amidst piles and piles of snow. He had actually planned to take me to the roof and propose, but there was so much snow he couldn’t open the door to go up. Instead he opted for the beautiful circular staircase with windows looking out to the forest and snow. Three months later, on March 25, 2026 we were married in the Los Angeles California LDS Temple. It was a gorgeous day and one I will never forget.
Though we now have two wonderful children and don’t get out as much as we did during our “dating years” we still make time for each other and I’m still surprised by the random romantic gestures like flowers or treats brought home for no reason other than to tell me he loves me. I’ve definitely found my Prince Charming and I’m so overwhelmingly happy I did, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!
Molly Foster’s daughter Jess is getting married… To Molly’s delight - and surprise. And with Molly’s show featuring a wedding countdown, the whole town of Wells-next-the Sea is ecstatic - even as Molly worries that groom-to-be Max’s commitment may not be all it seems… Meanwhile, Jess’s control freak step-mother Marnie is determined to turn the event into a chi-chi society bash - a world away from the day that Jess envisaged. But does Jess really know what she wants? Especially when she meets the gorgeous Oliver… Though there’s no going back now - is there? Can Jess take back control of her wedding - or will the mothers of the bride run the show?
