Featured Proposal: Sevada & Lusineh

Recently, a very dear friend of Harsanik co-founders Marineh and Garen, Sevada Mardirosian, got engaged. Marineh and Sevada went to Hoover High School together (Go Tornadoes!) and Sevada still jokes that he is the reason Marineh was able to attend her high school graduation ceremony. Sevada mentioned to Marineh a few days before the proposal his plans of popping the question, and we were ecstatic with the wonderful news.  And it was no surprise that Sevada planned an incredibly romantic proposal since he is a hopeless romantic. He paid attention to every tiny detail and made sure to sweep Lusineh off her feet. We're thrilled to feature Sevada and Lusineh's love story and proposal details on Harsanik! 

Tell us about how you two met and what drew you to each other. 

Lusineh: We have known each other from elementary through college and crossed paths many times. We met in March of 2018 at a local restaurant Oak & Vine in Glendale. We were sitting in the outside patio area with our tables next to each other, while out with friends. Sevada made sure to start a conversation with our table and that’s when it all started. We instantly connected because he was the most charming, funny and caring person. I was drawn to him and felt at ease from the first moment.

Our first date was at a cute restaurant called the Front Yard.  We had dinner and drinks and laughed so much while getting to know each other on a deeper level. Although we were both nervous, there was a sense of comfort and excitement knowing we were connecting. He even surprised me with roses at the end of the night. He hasn’t stopped making me laugh ever since that first date. As we started getting to know each other, I felt he was the most honest and kind-hearted person on this planet. He quickly became my favorite person and I gravitated towards his warm and affectionate ways.

He’s not only loving but attentive, compassionate, and definitely a romantic. He shows me love through the smallest gestures like writing me little sweet notes or buying me healthy juices when I’m sick. Sev instantly puts me at ease in any situation and this is how I know he’s the one for me. Although, he does drive me crazy when he tries to prank me in some way every other week… but I’ve gotten him back a few times. Sev knows what he wants, especially when it comes to his enjoyment for food. Somehow, he’s turned me into a beer drinker and dessert lover. We truly have so much fun doing the simplest things together. He is the perfect man for me. I knew he was the one when he made things official between us by writing a beautifully thought out card.

Sevada: Seeing Lusineh that night in 2018 was just pure joy for me. I had seen her pictures on Instagram in the past few years and ran into her at a restaurant a year before, where we exchanged looks, yet never spoke. When I got my chance to talk to her again I took the opportunity to make her laugh and get to know her. Throughout this past year, I’ve grown more in love with her as she continues to amaze me. Lusineh is so loving, compassionate and grateful in life and then there’s her humorous side. It’s easy to see she’s beautiful on the outside although more importantly, it’s the beauty on the inside that stands out to me. Her family and friends will all agree. She understands me and the level of care she shows me is like no other. A day doesn’t go by where we don’t laugh and share our thoughts.

Lusi has this great energy around her, she’s sweet, fun and social with just the right amount of spice. Speaking of spice, she has surprised me with her cooking and if I’m lucky she’ll continue to learn more of the recipes I’m interested in. I can be myself around her and we have so much fun hanging out at home for movie night with pizza and beer or going out for the night. I feel like no matter what happens in this journey of life we’ll be fine with each other by our side. Her happiness gives me more energy, so I made sure to make her mine. I knew, from the first month of having those late-night conversations where everything seems to connect on a deeper level, that she was the one for me. After 11 months of dating I knew I had to propose. 

We want all the proposal details!  

Lusineh: On Saturday February 16, Sevada took me to lunch back to the same restaurant as our first date, then invited me to watch the sunset at his rooftop deck and give me a belated Valentine’s Day card. When we got there, he had the section where we first kissed all nicely decorated with lit candles inside of large decorative lanterns, flowers all over including a designed bouquet. He walked me through the decorated area to the card that was left on a side table next to the flowers. He handed me the card and told me to read one side and turn it around only when I was finished. After I read the touching words, I turned the card around to see a custom designed card of a bride and groom wearing traditional Armenian wedding attire standing in church with our faces. It was then where Sevada got down on one knee and proposed. It was all magical and my hands were shaking. It was so exciting for us and we were so happy. I found out later he reached out to artist Arpi Krikorian to create a custom illustration piece for this special moment. 

That is so romantic! So what was your reaction to all of this? 

Lusineh: Surprised and shocked because I thought Sevada was just being his usual romantic self so when he handed me the card, I still had no idea what was happening until I turned it around and saw the custom card of us in traditional Armenian Bride and Groom attire and he was proposing. Sevada still can’t believe how sweet and willing Arpi was to help him as her illustration turned out better than he envisioned. She is such an amazing artist.

Wow Sevada! That is one really detailed proposal. How long did it take you to plan all of that?

Sevada: About 5 weeks give or take.

So how did Lusineh never find out?!

Lusineh: Honestly, he did a great job of not changing his behavior throughout the planning process, nor did he show signs so I was completely shocked and surprised. He also didn’t tell more than a few friends and family but also enlisted their help to keep things a surprise. 

Marineh (Harsanik): So Sevada actually revealed his plans to me a few days before the proposal! As you can guess, I was over the moon with excitement! We thought you'd appreciate seeing Sevada's actual words so here's our Instagram conversation from February 13, 2019:

 

Were there any challenges in planning something so elaborate? 

Sevada: Of course! I had a few ideas, but the possibility of rain made it much more difficult to follow through. Friends & family were so willing to help and did. Especially one of my best friends Ara (another fellow Hoover High alum!) who helped with the decorations, flowers and took the best pictures of the proposal. Timing had to be right as we knew the best picture quality was going to be around sunset and we needed light. I was most concerned about keeping the surprise to the last second, knowing our families are so close by, inside my place, waiting for us and worried about any noises or certain pieces possibly giving it away. Proposing can be fun and stressful but in the end, it was all worth it as we’ll remember the night for the rest of our lives. 

We need to know about the ring. Sevada did you select it? Any hints from Lusineh? Did you guys go ring shopping together?

Sevada: Well now, like most men these days we question exactly what style our other half will love, driving us crazy to the point where you just want to ask the question already and be done with it. I knew basically which style I wanted to get Lusineh and she didn’t give any hints on what she preferred really. We never went ring shopping together as I wanted the proposal to be a complete surprise. 

How did you celebrate the proposal with close family and friends? 

Lusineh: Sevada had invited both our immediate families to surprise me when we went back inside his place to celebrate. Nothing was better than to be surprised by our families and celebrate the occasion. They all helped decorate his place so nicely with cake, balloons, and flowers. We loved how it all turned out. It brought our families closer, eating and drinking as we toasted to new beginnings.

For Sevada, it wouldn’t have been complete if we hadn’t taken off to Vegas the next morning to have our own weekend celebration. 

So, has the wedding planning officially begun?

Lusineh: Well since we won’t be having an engagement party, we’re planning a small khosk-kap celebration until the wedding. As for the wedding, we have an idea of the date we would like along with our venues, but we haven’t officially begun the planning. We are hoping maybe for the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020. We are using Harsanik.com to find some of our vendors.

Sevada: Lusineh has always recommended the site to all her friends and family for special events and since I’ve known Marineh from early childhood I know we are going to be using Harsanik.com to find all our vendors. It’s a must!

Marineh (Harsanik): You guys are too sweet! It's such an honor to be able to share your love story. Truly a match made in heaven. You both are wonderful human beings and you deserve all the happiness in the world.

FUN FACT: Marineh from Harsanik took this picture of Sevada & Lusineh!
They were celebrating their mutual friend's sister's wedding (Elin & Shaun: October 2018)

We loved that Sevada personalized the proposal with such a meaningful piece of art by Arpi Krikorian. We have been a big fan of Arpi Krikorian's art for some time so we took this opportunity to reach out to Arpi to hear about her experience working with Sevada. 

Arpi, how did Sevada first reach out to you? And what was the initial idea?

Arpi: Sevada messaged me through Instagram. He had seen (I think) my bride and groom wedding invitation I had done this last time. He said the sweetest things about Lusineh and told me 'I want to propose to my girlfriend and I want to incorporate your drawing into my proposal.' His initial idea was to change the faces, just to make it look like them two... At the end we decided to create a greeting card of the personalized drawing.

I actually ended up having to redraw the whole thing because I couldn't just change the faces. I work traditionally and I just finish digitally. The plan was to have Sevada give the card to Lusineh as a Valentine's Card and then when she opened it, it would be a picture of her as a bride and him as a groom. And at that point, he would be kneeling and proposing to her.

Wow, what a plan! So how were you able to draw Sevada & Lusineh?

Arpi: Sevada's so sweet - he sent me a bunch of pictures of the two of them of different angles so I could draw their faces. When he first saw the drawing, he was like 'Oh My God!' I don't think he even imagined what it would look like. I met Sevada for the first time at the printer and we immediately bonded. We even took pictures together so he could later show Lusineh.

Had you done something like this before?

Arpi: This was my first time being part of the proposal. I even told my family all about Sevada's upcoming proposal. I felt like I had known him for years. Overall, it was the sweetest thing to be a part of. And it made me think that I really want to be a part of something like this in the future. A proposal is the beginning of someone's life together. So this project was incredibly meaningful for me.

We're excited to announce that we are collaborating with Arpi Krikorian on some upcoming projects. Stay tuned for more details coming soon. 

And that's a wrap! Thank you so much to Sevada and Lusineh for sharing your love story and proposal details with Harsanik. We are so fortunate to know this couple well and be able to follow them along their journey to their wedding. We can't wait to share more details from Sevada and Lusineh's wedding planning adventures with you over the next year.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram and watch our Instagram Stories as we may be doing a few throwbacks of Marineh and Sevada's high school days. ;)  

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