Luckily for Tyrel, Joana’s mother trusted his father and eventually agreed to give her blessing to Tyrel and Joana in marriage. The loving couple did not wait a spare moment and proceeded to finalize their wedding plans. Tyrel and Joana got married just a few months later at Tyrel’s parents’ ranch.
They finally tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in October 2014. As his bride had come from very humble beginnings, the couple chose to go extremely frugal when planning their wedding. The bride wore a $5 wedding gown and Tyrel wore a traditional Filipino garment called a “barong.”
Concerned Mother
It seemed that the roles had switched as this time it was Joana’s mother who was telling her daughter to watch out for Tyrel and began questioning his intentions. As an American, Joana’s boyfriend wasn’t exactly a familiar face in the Philippines, which is why Joana’s mother did not approve of the match.
Tyrel respected Joana’s mother and didn’t want to go against her in any way. However, he had a strong intuition that there was still something in his power to make her change her mind. Pulling out all the stops, Tyrel convinced his entire family to come overseas to meet Joana’s family.
Bringing the Family Over
Tyrel felt he needed his parents to step in and help him build Joana’s family's trust in him. This was a big thing he was asking of them which is why, despite his shyness, he knew he had to ask his family for their help. He began by asking his dad to accompany him to the Philippines.
Tyrel’s father raised him on deeply Christian family values, and he knew that getting a blessing from Joana’s mother meant everything to his son. The two booked flight tickets and flew to the Philippines. They were about to meet Joana and her family under very unique and memorable circumstances.
A Charitable Wedding
The loving couple did not want an extravagant wedding and opted instead for an economic one. Joana and Tyrel only needed to have each other and felt more than blessed for their deep love. The couple asked their guests to not bring wedding presents, as they had another idea in mind.
In an ode to the charity that initially brought the two together, Joana and Tyrel asked guests to bring gifts for charity in none other than shoeboxes. They wanted to make this event special not just for them, but also for many other, less fortunate people across the world.
Many Gifts
The charity shoeboxes brought to Tyrel and Joana’s weddings were later donated to Operation Christmas Child, the very organization that had caused the original fortunate introduction between the two, to begin with. This was the moment that truly brought the couple's story full circle. They felt both blessed and excited by the event.
After the wedding, the couple drove to their honeymoon in North Carolina. They made sure to spend that time hand-delivering their shoebox gifts along the way. The two did not come out of the wedding empty-handed though, as they also received a special gift in each present.