The Tamesis
Rhiannon Hainds and Chaysenrathet’s first meeting felt like something out of a movie. It was the summer of 2023 and Rhiannon was on a girls trip to Saint-Tropez. “I could finally be alone in peace, knowing that one day the right love would find me,” recalls the Atlanta anesthesiologist. Chaysen, a German software developer, was in town visiting his grandparents and spotted Rhiannon in their hotel pool. “I stared at this beautiful, alluring halo,” he said. Rhiannon added: “We kept looking at each other, locking eyes, then nervously looking away, but then looking back.” When her friends joined her at the pool, Rhiannon saw Chasen had gotten up and left. When she looked up again, she was surprised to find him standing in front of her. “Knowing now what a shy person Chasen is, I’m so grateful that he had the courage to come say hi to me that day,” Rhiannon said.
That night, Rhiannon was getting ready to go out to dinner with friends and spotted him in the hotel parking lot. “He was this charming European guy who offered to take our picture. I said sure and shyly slipped him my phone number,” she shared. As the day comes to an end, Rhiannon tries to sneak out of a nightclub while her friends are still dancing. Chiasson happened to see her at this time, jumped in front of her, and said, “You!” Rhiannon recalled: “I was very excited to see him. I immediately turned around and told him I was going to dance.” The two spent the rest of the night going to nightclubs, eating late-night snacks, and singing karaoke. They ended their evening stargazing back at the hotel. “We clinked beers and opened up and talked about our lives, our struggles, our goals and our dreams until the sun came up,” Rhiannon said. “We even promised each other with our pinkies that maybe we were meant to spend this life together. At that moment, we both knew we’d found something unique and worth everything we’d been through so far.” As the sun rose, Rhiannon asked Chasen how she knew they would see each other again. Chasen took off a necklace he had been wearing and put it on Rhiannon, saying, “I know if you had this necklace, I would see you again.” The two returned to their hotel room to tell their traveling companions that they had just met their future spouses.
Their courtship was unique because Rhiannon lived in Atlanta and Chasen lived in Lisbon. “With the help of technology, we had a growing relationship that continued for hours through video calls and messages,” Rhiannon said. Chasen added: “We went our separate ways only to reunite in Lisbon and have our first date at Palazzo Grillo – and the rest is history.”
A year after their first meeting, Chasen and Rhiannon returned to Saint-Tropez to spend time with their families. Chasen suggested they head to Pamplona Beach and jump in the water to beat the jet lag. “I took her to one of my favorite childhood places, a quiet marina with a view of all of La Mathiere,” Chasen describes. “I sat next to her at sunset and tried to recite what I had practiced. I proposed to her from the bottom of my heart.” The two began to cry, and then Rhiannon said “yes” and put on the heirloom ring that Chaisson had designed with her mother. “I was nervous about jumping into the ocean with it, but we were both so excited and happy and thrilled that we could spend the rest of our lives loving each other,” Rhiannon said. “We held hands and fired cannonballs into the calm, turquoise water.” They then returned to Chasen’s home to find his parents and sister hosting a celebration. “We drank champagne and danced under the stars,” Rhiannon recalled. “It was pure happiness.”
