“There was a part of me that felt that ‘happily ever after’ was never in the cards for me, so that is the best thing that he’s ever given to me,” Ricardo says about Glenn. “It’s something that a lot of people would disregard, but to me it’s the biggest thing because he actually gave me strength.”
Glenn Chesborough, who works in the healing arts field, and Ricardo Dixon, who is a licensed massage therapist and paramedical esthetician, met 12 years ago in 2004 online through a local chat group. Glenn was in Florida to help his mom rebuild her house after Hurricane Charlie.
“One thing led to another. We were both planning on heading back up north – him back to New York, myself back to Massachusetts because I had a massage therapy business up there – but as the summer progressed, we started spending more and more time together,” Glenn says.
As the summer ended, Ricardo asked Glenn, “Aren’t you supposed to be leaving?” Glenn said he wanted to see where this was going. Ricardo agreed and says he realized they were at that point in dating.
In the middle of 2013, Glenn figured it was time for moving toward marriage. He had saved up money from his previous job at Macy’s to buy the ring he wanted for Ricardo. Ricardo surprised Glenn with a trip to Disney one weekend, which was actually their first trip together as a couple. Glenn thought that would be the perfect time to propose.
At just before midnight on Christmas Eve 2013, in front of the Christmas tree in then-Downtown Disney, Glenn kept calling out to Ricardo to turn around. He also at the same time tried to record the moment on his phone and hold the ring and attempt to get down on one knee, all while trying to get his attention. Glenn recalls it as a funny moment, and he says Ricardo was so surprised when he finally turned around – and of course, he said yes.
“He kept calling me, and I wouldn’t turn around. He then said ‘Rikki, there’s something I want to ask you.’ It was just the way he said it, I knew exactly what it was,” Ricardo recalls. “It was to me one of the most special moments because it wasn’t any big show for anyone else – it was just a moment just for us, and we’ll always have that.”
The couple considers Orlando their personal playground; they will take a weekend and just have fun. It is where they bond the most and get to spend a lot of time together, so they consider it very special. That’s where the idea of getting married at Universal Orlando Resorts came from. They wanted their wedding to be very unique to them, yet they still wanted it to be engaging for their guests so they didn’t get bored. They also had the attire be casual with the exception of no flip flops, Ricardo jokes.
“It was a whirlwind,” Glenn says about the wedding day. “There was a lot of emotion between the two of us and everybody that was there.”
The couple says the wedding day happened without any hiccups. The ceremony was held on the pathway to Hard Rock Hotel just outside of Universal Orlando.
Ricardo’s favorite thing about their wedding day was Glenn’s vows to him, which he based off a phrase they always use with each other.
Ricardo recalls his wedding day as “the most special day in the most special place with the most special person.”
YEARS TOGETHER: 12 years
ENGAGEMENT DATE: December 24, 2013
WEDDING DATE: February 25, 2017
WEDDING VENUE: On the pathway to Hard Rock Hotel just outside of Universal Orlando® Resort
INTERESTING FACT: They wore kilts and sweaters for the wedding ceremony, and changed into matching custom T-shirts afterward.
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