Arianna Colella of Cranston and John Centonze of Highland, New York are set to wed on April 18, 2020 at the Providence Graduate.
How We Met
John and I did not meet the old-fashioned way. We both swiped right! Yep, that’s right, Tinder! After chatting on the Tinder app for a week, John finally asked for my number. To be completely honest, I was scared. I had never been on a blind date before, especially with someone who I had never met, but, of course, I agreed. The date was set: Friday September 19, 2014. Meeting location set for Lola’s in Providence (who have now unfortunately closed their doors for good). I mean, who says “no” to nachos and margaritas? The topic of conversation that dominated the night was the fact that we were both FBI, a.k.a. Full Blooded Italians. What were the chances?! As we talked, we kept discovering that our families, in fact, share all of the same traditions. I knew at that point this was not going to be a failed first date. We actually talked so much we never finished the nachos (if you know us well, you know that is something that never happens). Almost five years later, we continue to celebrate September 19th as the first night we met and found forever love in each other. John likes to joke and call it, “The night I almost stood him up.” The best part of this Tinder success story is that I downloaded the app not anticipating finding a husband. John happened to be my first “swipe right” and the first (and only) date using the assistance of Tinder.
Our Proposal Story
Massart Photography RI
One of the best features of Rhode Island has to be its scenery. It definitely gets the title the “Ocean State” for a reason. On November 10th, John chose our favorite spot at Beavertail State Park in Jamestown. As a URI graduate, Narragansett is very near and dear to my heart. There is a particular spot we usually choose at Beavertail from time to time that faces an ocean side community in Narragansett called Bonnet Shores (I lived there for a year). That same spot is where we had our pre-engagement picnic. The day called for high winds but that didn’t keep us away from bringing our Nikon camera to shoot some pictures of the fall foliage with an ocean backdrop. To my surprise, during the week, John had purchased a tripod for our camera. While sitting and admiring the sunny fall day, John asked me to stand and take a photo with him. I wasn’t fond of what the wind was doing to my hair, but I got my bottom up off the chair and stood beside him. John began to hug me and fall deeply into some heart felt words, while one hand continued to sit in his coat pocket. As the hand came out of his pocket I could see that he began to lower and take a knee. I, in that moment thought it was a great idea to get low with him… and that’s when I knew “it” was happening. Being Italian, we can also be extremely loud, so it was fitting that all I could do was scream and JUMP! This is all without even seeing the ring! Insert more screaming and jumping as I lock eyes with the brightest diamond I had ever seen. John then goes over behind my chair and picks up a bottle of Champagne that read “The Future Centonze’s” on the label. The best part…the entire proposal was recorded on our camera that sat on our new tripod. This particular weekend is very special to us as it happens to be the Greenvale Vineyard Harvest Festival every year, something we have been attending for the past 4 years. This also happens to be the place I believe I fell in love with John four years ago. Wine is also very dear to us as we make our own homemade red wine each year, so it was important to incorporate vino with this engagement. Post engagement celebrations began at Greenvale with a bottle of their “Stepping Stone” wine while FaceTiming our family and friends. The night ended with our family at a new local Italian restaurant (of course). The smiling and jumping still continues today. Salute!
