This week we are celebrating the love story of two very sweet humans, Mel Sage and Dave Schlatter. These cuties sent these photos our way shortly after the proposal and we couldn’t help but squeal at how adorable they are! Read on for how they rekindled their relationship, their funny “I love you” story, and what’s next for these two!
Names: Mel Sage & Dave Schlatter
Current location: San Diego, CA
Meeting date + location: May, 2012 – Friend’s Memorial Day Party – Marlton, New Jersey
Wedding date + location: August, 2022 – Flanagan Farm – Buxton, Maine
Tell us everything! How did you meet?
We actually met in high school through mutual friends but didn’t start dating until much later. Our first time ever hanging out outside of school was on a snowboarding trip. We eventually went off to college and reconnected at a friend’s Memorial Day party over summer break back in our hometown.
The proposal – please tell us the story!
Mel: An Arizona-based photographer by the name of “By Kristen Marie” had reached out to me months before the engagement asking if Dave and I would be interested in doing a couple’s shoot with her just to build her portfolio. We’d agreed but she ended up having to cancel. This was all real and unrelated to any sort of proposal, but after some time went by, Dave secretly reached out to the photographer and devised a plan to have her contact me again about doing a shoot. So I actually worked with Kristen on planning the whole thing in Joshua Tree. I thought I was the one making Dave participate so I had no idea that Dave and Kristen had been planning an engagement shoot on the side! About 10 minutes in, Kristen positioned us back to back and when she told me to turn around Dave was on one knee. I was so surprised and also elated that the ring was from Sofia Kaman. Dave and I had casually gone ring shopping a couple of months beforehand and I knew I wanted my ring to be from there.
When did you know that your significant other was the one?
Mel: It’s hard to say exactly when I knew. I definitely remember thinking early on that our love was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before – so maybe that was the beginning of knowing.
Dave: I’m with Mel on this one; it’s hard to say exactly when. There wasn’t one moment that stands out. But I can remember a moment in October of 2012 right before I first asked if she would officially be my girlfriend, we had already been seeing each other for 5 months and I thought to myself, this is the most special thing I’ve ever felt. And I think I’ve just been swooning ever since.
What is your favorite thing about your significant other?
Mel: Wow – picking just one is hard!! I’d have to say my favorite thing is how smart Dave is. It’s so exciting to see how he excels at work because of his intelligence and then just having conversations with him – he’s able to be so thoughtful. I love how complex his mind is.
Dave: I think my favorite thing about Mel is how willing and eager she is to try new things and go on fun adventures; life is so much fun being with her.
What has COVID taught you about each other/relationships? Did you learn anything about your SO?
Mel: COVID has taught us that we can survive not only living together but also living in total isolation together! We learned more about what each other needed like when we needed space or when we needed comforting and what have you. It definitely was tougher in the beginning but we settled in.
Dave: I think that COVID taught us that even in the face of a global pandemic, love is strong enough to keep you going. Even though we were so isolated socially, we found ways to keep things fun and exciting and new just the two of us.
Do you have any notable stories that have stood out over the years – hilarious, sentimental, anything!
Mel: One earlier memory I have was one night before Dave and I had ever said ‘I love you’, we were laying on the couch and I was complaining about how I wanted my stomach to be more toned and Dave blurted out, “I love you… stomach”. Neither of us acknowledged it and just kept on with the conversation. It was so clunky and cute and a few days/weeks after we both said ‘I love you’ to each other one night and then talked about the ‘I love you stomach’ moment and laughed so hard about it. It became a running joke for a while and sometimes we still say it to each other.
Dave: One notable story is from the night before I proposed to Mel. I couldn’t sleep at all because I was nervous and so excited, so I went on the couch to lie down out there. Mel came out at 4am and asked what was wrong and I almost blew the surprise! I fumbled an excuse about how I couldn’t sleep and wasn’t sure why. Later we both laughed because she thought that was odd but thankfully didn’t question it too much.
What’s your favorite go-to date night idea? Pre or post-quarantine!
Mel: Earlier on in quarantine, during the big initial shut down, we were feeling extremely cooped up. I think I especially was having a hard time and Dave came up with the idea of turning our bedroom into a ‘comedy club’. So we set up a screen, made cocktails, turned the lights out, put headphones on and watched stand-up specials. It was so dorky because of the headphones! But it helped to make it feel like we were there and ended up being a really fun night.
Dave: We have this old van that we bought at the beginning of quarantine, I think one of my favorite quarantine dates has been loading up in the van and driving somewhere with a nice view and having a picnic style dinner, just the two of us. Pre-quarantine we loved going to local restaurants for drinks and dinner so we just adapted that into a shutdown world.
Let’s talk jewels – how did you choose this ring?!
Mel: Dave knew what I liked when we went shopping but I was super blown away when I found out that he had the ring custom made by Sofia! It’s antique-inspired, which I absolutely love.
Dave: Sofia hooked it UP! I had a vision based on all the things Mel was loving as we went ring shopping and SK was really able to pull in all those elements and make the perfect ring.
Wedding time! How is planning going?
Mel: Wedding planning has been very interesting so far, mostly because of COVID. We’ve had to consider whether or not the virus will affect many of the planning aspects. Even something like trying on dresses is affected because you can’t have many people with you to try on. Luckily we have a lot more time to figure it all out.
Dave: We’re pretty early in the process, but it has been fun looking at different venues and trying to pick a place for our wedding. I would say the best advice I can give is take things one step at a time. In the beginning, it was very overwhelming, but we’ve settled into it and are having fun with it now. (Mel does a lot of the heavy lifting though)
What are you most excited about for your wedding?
Mel: It may sound weird, but I think I’m most excited for how excited Dave is going to be on our wedding day. I’ve of course thought about my own excitement too, but there have been a few times now where I can just picture Dave and how elated I know he’ll be and it makes me so happy to think about. It’s going to be such an awesome day, especially having everyone we love there!!
Dave: I think I’m most excited to see Mel walk down the aisle. I can’t wait for our big day and to vow our love in front of all of our friends and family.
Honeymoon plans?
Mel: We don’t know exactly where yet but we’ve talked about maybe Morocco or Barcelona or both!
Dave: I’m all in on Barcelona and Morocco. Mel and I lived in Barcelona for 3 months while she studied abroad, and we’ve been dying to go back ever since.
Alright – so what’s next for the two of you?!
Mel: In the short term we’re just trying to enjoy being engaged and have fun in the planning process! Despite the state of the world right now, it’s a really special time for us and we’re trying to be present with that and soak it all in. Down the line, we will likely move back to the east coast to be closer to family and eventually start one of our own.
Finally, if you could add any piece to your SKFJ collection, which one would it be?
Mel: I’ve had my eye on the Art Nouveau Sculpted Flower Band for a while now… but I also love the Claudette Stacking Band. We just might be coming by the showroom again before our big day!
—
Do you have an engaging story to share of how you met your love? Head here to share for your chance to be the next featured Love Story!
