In this article, we take a closer look at the heartwarming and romantic proposal story of Sydney Nicole Gifford and Nathan Sloneker. As an influencer and online content creator, Sydney Nicole has captured the hearts of many with her simple yet stylish approach to everyday life, but the story of how she met Nathan and their unforgettable engagement is truly special. From their first meeting to the moment Nathan asked the question, we’ll explore the journey that led them to this life-changing milestone. Join us as we dive into their unique love story, filled with joy, excitement, and a proposal that will inspire.
How did you meet your love? How long have you been together before he proposed to you?
Nathan and I met in our last year of college in Minnesota! We moved to Texas together and were together a bit over a year and a half before he proposed.
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-posing-kissing-on-the-terrace-sydneynicolegiff.jpeg?fit=1080%2C1350&quality=70&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-posing-kissing-on-the-terrace-sydneynicolegiff.jpeg?w=1080&quality=70&ssl=1 1080w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-posing-kissing-on-the-terrace-sydneynicolegiff.jpeg?resize=200%2C250&quality=70&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-posing-kissing-on-the-terrace-sydneynicolegiff.jpeg?resize=400%2C500&quality=70&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-posing-kissing-on-the-terrace-sydneynicolegiff.jpeg?resize=80%2C100&quality=70&ssl=1 80w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-posing-kissing-on-the-terrace-sydneynicolegiff.jpeg?resize=768%2C960&quality=70&ssl=1 768w" alt="Sydney + Nathan" class="cl-visible" />
Photo by: sydney nicole giff
What was the day like? Are there any special events or hints that something was about to happen?
I definitely had hints that a proposal was coming! My mom actually gave Nathan her engagement ring that my dad had proposed to her with because my parents don’t wear jewelry much anymore and have tattoos on their ring fingers instead of rings. So I knew that Nate had my mom’s ring and was working with a jeweler to change it a little before proposing to me. I didn’t know the exact day that it was going to happen but I knew it was in the works!
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-and-woman-making-a-photo-in-elevator-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?fit=1080%2C1350&quality=70&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-and-woman-making-a-photo-in-elevator-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?w=1080&quality=70&ssl=1 1080w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-and-woman-making-a-photo-in-elevator-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=200%2C250&quality=70&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-and-woman-making-a-photo-in-elevator-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=400%2C500&quality=70&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-and-woman-making-a-photo-in-elevator-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=80%2C100&quality=70&ssl=1 80w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-and-woman-making-a-photo-in-elevator-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=768%2C960&quality=70&ssl=1 768w" alt="proposal story of sydney nicole gifford nathan sloneker man and woman making a photo in elevator sydneynicolegiff" class="cl-visible" />
Photo by: sydney nicole giff
At the time, we were living in Texas and all our family was still back in Minnesota, so our engagement was very private and just us two, which I personally loved. I was so excited when I saw the engagement ring! Nate used my moms diamonds and put them on a dainty setting that I absolutely love and it is so special to me to have not just any ring, but one made from my mom’s ring that Nate designed!
Has the engagement changed your perspective on your relationship?
The engagement honestly didn’t change much about our relationship. It really was a “when you know, you know” type of thing and we talked early on about getting engaged, married, and the future a lot before the proposal.
How did you share the news about engagement with family and friends?
A lot of our family knew it was coming, especially since they knew Nate had my mom’s ring! The night we got engaged we facetimed family and friends to share the news and show them the ring since most of our family and friends were in Minnesota we didn’t celebrate in person right away but everyone knew immediately thanks to facetime!
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-photosession-balcony-sunset-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?fit=1080%2C1350&quality=70&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-photosession-balcony-sunset-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?w=1080&quality=70&ssl=1 1080w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-photosession-balcony-sunset-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=200%2C250&quality=70&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-photosession-balcony-sunset-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=400%2C500&quality=70&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-photosession-balcony-sunset-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=80%2C100&quality=70&ssl=1 80w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-couple-photosession-balcony-sunset-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=768%2C960&quality=70&ssl=1 768w" alt="proposal story of sydney nicole gifford nathan sloneker couple photosession balcony sunset sydneynicolegiff" class="cl-visible" />
Photo by: sydney nicole giff
How are you envisioning your wedding day next year? Have your plans changed since finding out about your pregnancy?
We’ve had a bit of an untraditional plan with our relationship, engagement, and pregnancy mainly due to moving across the country and planning the wedding around all that.
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-maternity-photosession-woman-posing-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?fit=1080%2C1350&quality=70&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-maternity-photosession-woman-posing-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?w=1080&quality=70&ssl=1 1080w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-maternity-photosession-woman-posing-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=200%2C250&quality=70&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-maternity-photosession-woman-posing-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=400%2C500&quality=70&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-maternity-photosession-woman-posing-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=80%2C100&quality=70&ssl=1 80w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-maternity-photosession-woman-posing-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=768%2C960&quality=70&ssl=1 768w" alt="proposal story of sydney nicole gifford nathan sloneker maternity photosession woman posing sydneynicolegiff" class="cl-visible" />
Photo by: sydney nicole giff
We planned to have a long engagement, which will be a little over two years long by the time we get married. We just moved back to Minnesota this summer and our wedding is planned for next summer, but didn’t want to wait to start our family now that we’re back living near both of our families and still have months before our wedding date. So the baby is due January of 2025 and our wedding is the following June, which will be great to have those months in between! It’s untraditional, but we were so excited to start our family and I think the timing will end up being perfect!
Do you have any specific themes or styles in mind for your wedding day?
I’ve already picked out my wedding dress – two actually! I couldn’t decide on two styles I loved because they’re so different, so I’m going to wear one for the ceremony and the other for the reception. I want a very modern and classy theme for our wedding so we’re going to ask all guests to wear all black and we’re not doing a traditional wedding party with bridesmaids and groomsmen either… we just want all our family and friends to attend as guests and we’ll get pictures with everyone instead of having a wedding party! Other than attire, I’m really excited to include lots of white florals into our wedding theme and I love DIY projects so I’m planning on making all the florals and decor myself!
How are you balancing wedding planning with preparing for your baby’s arrival?
There’s a lot going on planning for a wedding and a baby within the same year but thankfully we have both my family and Nate’s family close to us now so they’ve already been a ton of help! My mom has been tackling lots of the wedding planning while I’ve been pregnant which has been great. The wedding planning process while pregnant hasn’t been very stressful because of my mom’s help! I think once the wedding gets closer and I start DIYing all the florals I will probably take that back lol, but for now it’s been a breeze and I’ve just been focusing on pregnancy!
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-kissing-a-woman-maternity-photo-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?fit=1080%2C1350&quality=70&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-kissing-a-woman-maternity-photo-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?w=1080&quality=70&ssl=1 1080w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-kissing-a-woman-maternity-photo-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=200%2C250&quality=70&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-kissing-a-woman-maternity-photo-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=400%2C500&quality=70&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-kissing-a-woman-maternity-photo-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=80%2C100&quality=70&ssl=1 80w, https://i0.wp.com/www.weddingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/proposal-story-of-sydney-nicole-gifford-nathan-sloneker-man-kissing-a-woman-maternity-photo-sydneynicolegiff.jpg?resize=768%2C960&quality=70&ssl=1 768w" alt="proposal story of sydney nicole gifford nathan sloneker man kissing a woman maternity photo sydneynicolegiff" class="cl-visible" />
Photo by: sydney nicole giff
What advice have you received from other brides or mothers about planning a wedding while pregnant?
My biggest advice to other brides and moms is to do whatever feels right for you and your family– even if that’s untraditional! For us, having a long engagement made sense so that we could get married in Minnesota near family after we moved back, but we also didn’t want to wait for that day to start our own family! Planning a wedding while pregnant isn’t for everyone but it’s been fun for us knowing we’ll have our 5 or 6 month old baby with us on our wedding day is so special and makes it even more exciting!
