How We Met
Chris and I met in college at a fraternity event on January 9, 2016. What’s hilarious is that I was actually friends with a few of his fraternity brothers before I had even met him! What’s even funnier is that I remember seeing him at a few of my sorority’s events months prior to ever meeting him. I also remember making assumptions and judging him like crazy lol. Boy was I proven wrong! Since I had just transferred into UCI that fall, I basically felt like a freshman all over again despite already having three years of college under my belt. So it was nice getting to know everyone in Greek life despite being one of the oldest members in my sorority. Fast forward a few weeks to January, and my friend Harrison invited me to a party his fraternity was throwing that night. I remember feeling super tired from cheer practice that I almost didn’t go. But I am SO glad I did because that’s where I officially met my fiance Chris!
Our engagement story is actually a bit strange and kind of out of order. We have talked about marriage, children, and starting a family together for the past 2.5 years. (Basically since we met). So when last summer rolled around and things got more serious I wasn’t shocked or surprised. I think it is super important for couples to talk about the future and whether they or not they want the same things from it. You need to make sure you are both on the same page and ready to start your lives together.
Since Chris got all of his law school applications in by early October of 2019, he started getting acceptances from schools as early as November! That’s when I started getting a little antsy. I knew that law school was starting next fall, but he still hadn’t proposed yet. We finally sat down one night about two weeks before Thanksgiving to really discuss our plan for the following year because at the time we had no idea where we were moving to. We obviously knew we were going to get engaged before law school, but time was running out and our parents hadn’t even met yet! I know it’s hilarious. We have been dating for almost 3 years and our families had never met each other. So we decided within a week of that initial conversation that our families were going to meet.
Also right before, Chris had already mentioned that he had already contacted a private jeweler in LA and that the ring would be done sometime after Christmas! So that meant that I had to wait two WHOLE months for my ring. Not to be dramatic, but those two months of waiting and not knowing was horrible. I literally got my nails done every 3 weeks because I was so paranoid. I also did not want anyone to know until I had been officially proposed to with a ring. So technically I guess you can say we have been “unofficially” engaged since November.
How They Asked
I knew the proposal was coming since we had already discussed getting married and even began wedding planning 2 months prior to the actual engagement. Some of you might be asking why we chose to begin planning our wedding without the ring and proposal. Like most girls, I had been dreaming about my wedding day since I was little. I had a very specific type of venue and wedding ceremony in mind, and since venues book up years in advance in Orange County, I knew we had to start looking for our venue sooner than later. I also had an idea of what kind of dress I wanted and knew that most designers take about 6-8 months to make the actual dress, so I had to get on that super quickly as well. As for the rest of our vendors, I wasn’t too picky about so I didn’t mind taking my time with finding and booking them.
The Day of the Engagement: The weeks leading up to the proposal, I kind of knew it was going to happen but I wasn’t sure exactly when. A few weeks before, Chris sent me a text stating that the next few weekends coming up in January were going to be busy for us because he randomly wanted to go to all these places that had significant meaning to the both of us. Just from that text alone, I knew that the proposal was going to happen within the next 2-3 weeks. I woke up on Saturday, January 25, 2020, really confused and unsure if it was going to happen or not. But I definitely had a strong inkling I was going to get engaged that night since Chris kept texting me all day to dress nice and to wear a jacket. I’m crazy and sent Chris a text months ago about different scenarios in which I would like my proposal to happen in lol. I gave him lots of options and even my best friend Natasha’s phone number in case he needed assistance.
So around 4:30 pm Chris picked me up from my house and drove us to Roger’s Garden. I remember asking him why were going to the nursery so close to closing time and his response was “oh we won’t be there long.” Again another wave of butterflies washed through me but I pushed it away because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. We got to Roger’s Garden and started walking around. I kept looking around to see if my parents or friends were hiding in the bushes! I also kept looking at Chris’s pockets to see if there was a ring box in it. But alas there was none. So I pushed away that small wave of disappointment and just tried to enjoy the rest of the evening.
We continued walking through the garden while looking at the various plants, flowers and decor. Then as we were walking past the wind chimes and towards the fountains I turned and saw a bed of white and red flower petals and glass vases filled with red roses. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my best friend Natasha, her boyfriend and a photographer running out from the corner! I was honestly so surprised that Chris coordinates everything and everyone that I almost cried of happiness. I was so shocked I barely even remember Chris getting down on one knee, but I do remember hearing him ask me those four words I have been waiting months to hear. This was it. I’m pretty sure I blacked out of happiness because I barely remember saying yes. Apparently in the video Natasha took, I said “finally! yes!” right after Chris proposed!
