It didn't happen a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. No, it — as in the proposal of a lifetime — happened on April 15, 2017 in Orlando at the Star Wars celebration.
Alexis Pezzuto, 26, and Amanda Rivera, 25, were meeting Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) for a photo op. But then he took everything to lightspeed. He got down on one knee and asked his Leia to marry him.
She, of course, said “yes.”
“It just seemed like a pretty unique opportunity to do it. It seemed right and fitting for us,” said Pezzuto.
Pezzuto believes Rivera wasn’t expecting the four-word question at that moment. He had been planning to pop the question for months but knew the location and timing needed to be perfect. After considering several, he opted for this once-in-a-lifetime meet and greet.
“You see it in the picture and it’s really awesome. It turned out better than anything I could have imagined.”
And to think, this relationship started after a frustrated tweet about a PlayStation 4 error. Back in 2013, Pezzuto traveled from West Palm to the computer screen of Rivera in Philadelphia. The magic happened in seconds. After all, she was getting the same error.
Right off the bat, Pezzuto noticed Rivera was a beautiful woman. The first plus. Then he noticed they shared the same musical taste. Bonus. The cherry on top? She was also a Star Wars fan like him. You know, the kind who dresses up for events, has memorabilia at home and attends Star Wars conventions. Bingo!
“It was really what we bonded over. I saw she had Star Wars all over her Twitter. I loved that,” said Pezzuto.
By 2015, the two were in a long distance relationship.
After months of Skype video chats, everything started feeling too good, too real. Technology just wasn’t enough anymore. By that summer, Rivera came to Florida to meet the guy she had never seen in person.
They spent an entire week hanging out in Sarasota — as a couple. No awkward moments, no doubts. On June 13th, 2015, two days before returning to Philadelphia, Rivera and Pezzuto went to a Star Wars-themed weekend at Disney World in Orlando.
Talk about cup running over. The relationship was now palpable and their love of Star Wars was better when experienced as a pair.
No surprise, then, that last year, this young couple moved in together. And yes, their West Palm apartment is full of Star War collectibles and galactic conversations. Puzzeto works as a realtor and Rivera is an office clerk, and while they don't have any pets or kids yet, they do have a car named Padme 2.0 (Luke and Leia's mother).
They also have wedding plans. A civil ceremony on May 4, 2017. That's right. On May the Fourth Be With You Day. One can only hope it's Star Wars themed like the rest of their love story.
