Jordan and Jordanne

“Hi all! My name is Jordanne and I wanted to share my story about why my husband reproposed to me, with the help of Sarah Vendramini.

To explain why he reproposed, I need to take you back a few years to catch you up to speed. This may be a trigger warning for those who have been exposed to violence or trauma, so if you have, I’d suggest you stop reading this blog.

On October 1, 2017, my life came millimeters from ending. During the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, I was shot. My boyfriend at the time laid his body over mine as soon as we realized what was happening, but by that time, it was too late. I had already been hit. The bullet passed through my right forearm and lodged its way through my side and into my back. That night was the most terrifying and evil experience that I could ever imagine. My worst nightmares couldn’t even come close.

To say I was lucky to survive is an absolute understatement. The bullet missed every single organ and artery.

After that night, I spent a week in the hospital where I underwent multiple surgeries to repair the nerve damage in my forearm and remove the bullet from my back. It still hadn’t really sunk in what I had just experienced. Everything was hazy and my brain wasn’t functioning properly quite yet.

The hospital released me and I spent the next couple of weeks laying in bed, watching Say Yes To The Dress on repeat, and browsing through Pinterest looking at engagement rings. (Jordan told me he wanted to propose to me ASAP.) Keep in mind, during this time, I was still taking Dilaudid, Vicodin, and Xanax to cope with the pain I was still in and the anxiety from the trauma. I. Was. Loopy. I don’t even really remember those few weeks where I apparently picked out an engagement ring that would be on my hand for the rest of my life!

Fast forward to the end of October. I was still basically bedridden recovering from my surgeries and the bullet hole on my side was still working on closing up (It’s weird that they don’t sew bullet holes together, I still have the scar of a bullet on my side). One day, Jordan took me to get my nails done and at this point, I kind of had an idea of what was going to take place, but I wasn’t really sure.

The day that Jordan first proposed to me was a blur. I had my nails done, but my right arm still wasn’t functioning. I was still in a splint, so that meant hair and makeup would be done with my left hand. And holy crap, I looked BAD. Really, really bad. At this point, I had lost around 10 pounds so my clothes didn’t even fit. Jordan helped me get ready and when I mean helped, I mean really helped. He put my baggy jeans on and buttoned them for me, snapped my bra on for me, and even had to help with my hair and makeup. (I would’ve asked one of my girlfriends to help me, but I had no idea what was going on and Jordan didn’t really think to ask – must be a guy thing HAHA.)

And into the car we went. Jordan told me we were going out to dinner. This was the first time I left the house, besides going to occupational therapy since the shooting happened. On the way to “dinner,” Jordan told me that we were swinging by a local hospital to talk to the news station about what we had gone through and to meet up with local survivors. I was MAD. I did not want to talk about what I was

going through and I definitely wasn’t ready to talk to survivors. I mean I was still on the loopy medicine trifecta! But we went.

Once we arrived at the hospital, I was mic-ed up by the news station and hopped in the elevator. I had no idea what was going on. When we got out of the elevator, there was a trail of rose pedals leading to the helicopter pad. It was BEAUTIFUL! It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen – something you’d see on the Bachelor. We walked to the center of the helicopter pad, cameras all over us, and Jordan proposed. It was amazing.

It took a team of rock stars to pull together our proposal. AND I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WAS A PART OF IT. But immediately following a “Yes,” I was quickly rushed with a camera and news reporter for an interview. I was sweaty from the drugs, confused at what had just happened, and now had to answer questions about a mass shooting that had taken place less than one month ago.

I completely understand now that people wanted to see a good story with a happy ending after something so terrible, but what people didn’t see was the aftermath of what our proposal did to my mental health. Within days of being proposed to, our “story” was blasted every single morning and evening on the news. I saw it everywhere. People around town recognized us and the “Hey! I saw you on the news!” didn’t really slow down. I started to suffer from IBS from the anxiety from it all and would randomly burst into tears – by myself, around people, it didn’t matter. My brain was so jacked up.

This led to the absolute and ultimate survivor’s guilt. I was 24 years old and wasn’t mentally or emotionally strong enough to deal with surviving the U.S.’s largest modern mass shooting, let alone cope with the fact that I was here, alive, and getting proposed to on a helicopter pad covered in rose pedals. It didn’t seem fair. Why did I get to continue living my life when 58 amazing, beautiful souls were lost?

And this is where and why a re-proposal took place on May 6, 2021. My now-husband wanted to redo it all! A few months ago, he asked me to look up photographers I might want to take pictures with one day in Santa Barbara. I knew that we were going to Santa Barbara for vacation, but didn’t have the slightest clue that he was going to re-propose! I was browsing through Instagram when Sarah’s photos popped up. I loved her work so much and the way she captured precious moments, so I mentioned her name to Jordan.

This is when all of the fun apparently happened. My husband reached out to Sarah to start planning something with just us. He also had been working with a jeweler for months to design and create a ring that he picked out – not just something I picked out, all drugged up (whoops). He hired a hair and makeup team this time too!

We took a long stroll and in the middle of Douglas Family Preserve, my husband got on one knee and proposed again. It was just us two. Healthy and healed – and it was perfect.

Thank you so much to Sarah for capturing one of the best moments of my life. This is something I will forever cherish.”