Man Crush Monday | Ali & Taylor Sablesmith
Ali’s every day #ManCrush is her husband, Taylor!
Q: Tell us the story of how you met...
A: “Taylor and I met four years ago when I joined Monroe County Crossfit. Taylor was taking a break from the gym and I was a new member, but one of the coaches messaged him to let him know a girl with blue hair had joined. He came back to the gym, but we hardly talked - I can be very shy! A few months went by and there was a running challenge to see how many miles can you accumulate in one month, and we were neck and neck the entire month. I believe we ended up tying, but that's really when we started talking. He asked me out after the challenge ended, but I friend-zoned him. He spent the next few months trying to win me over.”
Q: What was the first date like?
A: “WELL. Our first date was supposed to be salsa lessons somewhere, but Taylor ended up in the hospital a few days prior. He had his appendix removed and was feeling good, but the doctors wouldn't let him go home just yet. I didn't want to miss out on the date, so I packed up some board games, made some home-made pop tarts (his favorite), and headed to the hospital. We had a low-key evening where he gave me a tour of his hospital wing, shared some ice cream from a food cart and our first kiss(!), and just talked for hours.”
Q: What makes him crush worthy?
A: “Where do I start?! Taylor is so many things that inspire me on a daily basis. He's genuinely kind, and sees the best in everyone. He's a great teacher and the most supportive person I've ever met. His ambition and dedication is infectious. He's gotten me to do so many things I never thought I was capable of doing - he even got me to run a marathon! A MARATHON! While I was a runner, I was adamant that I never wanted to race or do any super long distance runs, but he LOVES running and it brings him true joy, so after watching him run race after race I wanted to give it a go.
He's incredibly talented as well and is the type of person that can excel at something the first time he tries it. That being said, he's also the kind of person that will put in the work to make sure he's the best he can be at whatever he's trying to do, be it piano, Crossfit, salsa dancing, or building his own raised bed gardens in our backyard.
Most importantly, he's also a weirdo, but he's my kind of weirdo. We love the same things and have the same mentality about the important issues, so we instantly hit it off and fit together well. He keeps me sane and makes me feel valid and heard, and he makes me want to be a better person.”
Q: What's your favorite story about the two of you?
A: “We were out on a date and had had a few beers. Naturally, we decided to make a bet on the Crossfit Open we were competing in. The winner of the most workouts would win the bet. His wager was for me to eat plant based for a month, mine was to adopt a second cat.
We brought home Mr. Cat Fraser aka Tiny Two Reps a few months later. Taylor has resolved to never bet me again.”
Q: When did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life with this person?
A: “I had a gut feeling very early on that this man was going to change my life in big ways. There were lots of little things that he did that reinforced that, but I think the one really influential moment where I was like "yes, I can do this for a lifetime" was when I was upset about something that was important to me at the time (I can't remember what it was now). Instead of engaging with me in the fight I was ready to have, he said "okay, let's talk about it" and that's exactly what we did. Life is filled with so much stuff that can easily make a person upset or angry or cause a disagreement, so being able to speak to someone about what was actually bothering me and have them respond in such a productive and caring way was the last piece of the puzzle for me.”
Q: What are you looking forward to most in your future together?
A: “So many things! The adventures, the laughter, and the dancing in the kitchen to name a few. Taylor is very big into creating memories, so he almost always says yes to whatever random event I find on the internet.”
Q: Tell us about the proposal!
A: “I believe you mean “purrrposal.” We went abroad for two weeks and spent one week in London and the second week in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, there's a cat shelter on a houseboat called de Poezenboot that a friend told us about, and being the feline fans that we are, it was on our "must do" list.
Unbeknownst to me, Taylor had been plotting for months with our close friends, even playing hooky from work one day to buy the ring. He carried that ring hidden in a sunglasses case all through London, so by the time we got to Amsterdam, he was a bit of a wreck. Luckily, de Poezenboot was one of our first stops.
We got on this very tiny house boat and were admiring all the cats. While I was off on one side of the shelter, I saw Taylor was on the other side, talking to one of the Dutch volunteers. As Taylor has told it, the language barrier was a bit of an issue, but they eventually figured it out. I heard a commotion and saw a cat dart under something and Taylor looked horrified. I knew he was up to something, but he had previously not been into the idea of marriage, so my brain didn't go there initially. I decided to let him do whatever it was he was trying to do (cat selfies? I don't know) and stayed on my side of the boat.
He eventually called me over to "look at this cat's unusual name!" (none of the cats had collars, and I definitely had already pet the one he was talking about), but I played along and went to check out the cat. Katzumi was now wearing a collar with an ID tag that said "Ali, will you marry me?" I instantly started crying and turned around to find Taylor on one knee, ring extended.
[The photos from this moment are truly awful - I'm full on cry-smiling and we're in this weird team sport pose because you can't pick up the cats, you can only pet them, so we're crouched at cat level, trying to show off the ring. So bad.]”
Q: Tell us about your wedding day :)
A: “Our wedding was imperfect, but it was perfectly us. It was a perfect combination of both of our personalities and filled with all of the people that we love.
Our ceremony was brief, but full of love and multiple Brooklyn 99 references. I fulfilled a dream of mine to walk down the aisle to Andrew WK's "She is Beautiful" - beautifully arranged my Rachael Lemna's string trio. Taylor had a "b-list" of vows, mostly lines from our favorite tv shows, or things we had said when we were drunk. There was even a picture of a segway. We rock, paper, scissored for who got to say their vows first (I won), and I didn't say "I do", instead I said "hell yes!" It was goofy and it was weird and it was wonderful.
We're not traditional or formal people, and we never wanted a big wedding, just a big party with our friends and family and we wanted it to be FUN. That's exactly what we had. Beyond ensuring the food, drinks, and music were good, we didn't spend a lot of time worrying about our decorations or the other little things, that wasn't important to us. Our entrance to the reception had gold cash guns. We choreographed our first dance and threw in yet another Andy Sandberg reference. True, our DJs were the WORST, but despite that our reception was full of dancing and laughter and everyone had a great time. The sculptures and fairy lights used on the tables ended up being worn by the end of the night. The photobooth strips are amazing!
Taylor said he was nervous and excited, but I never felt nervous - I was so freaking ready! 20/10 would do again.”
