California to Carolina

Bride & Groom:

Dina Ruelas & Alex Mattar

The Meet-Cute:

Blowing Rock-native Alex and Californian Dina met in L.A. “the old fashioned way – at a bar.” They’ve since moved to Elizabeth and started putting down Charlotte roots; Dina works for AAA Carolinas and Alex for Bank of America.

The Proposal, as told by Dina:

The night before Alex moved back to North Carolina from California, we buried a capsule at Griffith Park, one of our favorite L.A. spots. Fast forward 5 months, and we went back to check on it using a map we drew. Alex mentioned he had hoped to see someone to take a picture of us. He did see someone, who was there to scout the location for an upcoming project. While I was distracted talking to the scout, Alex got on his knee and proposed. I can’t remember what he said because I kept saying, ‘This is happening!’ I bent down to grab him and we embraced in a long hug. Luckily, we heard the scout say, ‘Where is it?’ and we both gave a blank stare. He said, ‘The ring!’ Alex had it in his pocket. Once he put on the ring I said, “Holy s***, you did good!” and immediately proceeded to jump.

Dina & Alex’s Blowing Rock Hot Spots:

The pair visits the groom’s family in Blowing Rock once a month or so. Their advice for a weekend escape? “For food we love Bistro Roca, Storie Street Grill and Blowing Rock Brewery. We like the occasional drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway, hiking on the Moses Cone trail nearby and visiting Bass Lake, which is where we took our engagement pictures.”

The Wedding:

Dina and Alex will wed this April at Danner Farms in Statesville. The couple got crafty with reclaimed wood from a salvaged barn to create rustic chalkboards, centerpiece boxes, and wooden easels for DIY decor.

C5 <3

We dig the metropolitan vibe of this chic couple and their cross-country love story.

Photos: Boonetown Story

This story was originally published February 13, 2015 at 1:03 AM with the headline "California to Carolina."