Verve Shoot: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Taryn & Margo

Taryn (left) and Margo (right) are in love and their engagement sounds like a chapter out of a romance novel, but don't take my word for it.  Let them tell you themselves.

Margo: "Taryn and I met in grad school and we've been together for a little over 2 years now.  A year into our relationship, we talked about getting married, but decided to put it off until after we both finished school.  Little did I know that Taryn had plans to propose just days after our last papers -- 2 days before my 27th birthday."

Taryn: "Margo was anticipating a proposal sometime after we finished grad school, but I wanted to truly make it a surprise.  I knew she would never suspect that I would pop the question within days from finishing my thesis.  Margo thought I was only stressed about my approaching thesis deadline, but that was only part of it."

Taryn continues: "In late August 2010, with the help of both our families, Anna Sudac - a talented musician and Ryan Taylor - a gifted jeweler, I devised a sneaky proposal.  Margo thought we were just meeting my family for dinner in Cabbagetown.  On the way, she was chatty as usual and I was trying to stay composed.  We always pass by the Fair Trade Jewellery store, but on this particular day, Margo was surprised to find red rose petals strewn outside the atelier and a sign directing her inside.  

"Margo could barely make it through the door before her eyes started welling up.  I opened the single lit jewellery case where the engagement ring was displayed.  The beautiful Anna Sudac started playing Dawn Landes' Kissing Song at the front of the shop.  That was my cue to tell Margo how much I love her and ask to spend the rest of her life with me.

"Margo said YES!  But that wasn't the end of the surprise.

"Her parents (from the East Coast) and her sister (from the West Coast) had secretly flown to Toronto and were  hiding in the back.  After Margo accepted my proposal, both our families popped out and more happy tears were shed."

Many thanks to the beautiful couple for sharing their inspirational and romantic story.

Taryn's style: modern and structured, mixing masculine and feminine elements.  I like pairing skinny jeans and riding style boots with a structured blazer, but I also love kicking around in Converse and a tee.

Margo's style: I tend to go for styles that are a bit more femme than Taryn, but most days I wear jeans and boots too.  I'm also a big fan of tights with cardigans, chunky jewellery and dark tortoiseshell glasses with everything.