How We Met
We met on a Sunday, July afternoon at our local brewery, @SanFernandoBrewingCo. I was there to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and he was just there to refill his growler and head out. One of the staff members asked him if he’d like to have a beer while he waits for his growler to get refilled. He usually declines the offer, but this time, he said yes and found a seat in the crowded place next to me. We smiled at each other and one of the first questions I asked him was “How do you know _____?” which was the birthday girl. He looked surprised and said, “This was the only open seat I could find!” We ended up chatting for the rest of the night about our interests. I found out he brews beer, and I started asking him about other local breweries. Surprisingly, he’d never been to any of them. I took down his phone number and said I’d be happy to show him around to the other breweries. Later that night, I sent him a text and that was the start of our blossoming relationship!
How They Asked
We decided to take a quick trip to the Sequoias before 2019 ended so we planned it for late December. It was an overnight trip. We booked our Airbnb for the night and were really excited for this quick getaway! This was our first time visiting the area and this national forest. I honestly did not think he was planning to propose! We made our way to the entrance, and I remember seeing two birds flying together. As soon as we passed the entrance, it felt like we were transported to another land, another world. There was snow everywhere, which made the trip all the more exciting. It was cold, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the beautiful greenery and views. We began our drive through the Park and were in complete awe of God’s creation. It seemed surreal that these trees even existed.
We made several pit-stops on the way up, and we even thought of driving through to Kings-Canyon (overly ambitious idea, LOL). We made it up to the cutest little lodge, Montecito Sequoia Lodge. The staff was so hospitable, and we explained how this would be our last pit stop before driving back down. As we started to head out, we were stopped by a child telling us a car had gotten stuck on the road, and we needed to wait. It was starting to get darker, but we stayed calm.
We even played with the idea that we may need to end up staying in the lodge for the night. Luckily, the car was out of the snow in an hour and we were able to continue our drive down. He found the most perfect spot for the proposal. We were so high up, we could see the sunset over the clouds and trees. It truly was a sight to see. It was just us two taking in the view of the sunset. He began talking about how he was the real deal, and how much he loved me. I was a bit confused, and next thing you know, he gets on his knee and pops out the engagement ring! He asked me to marry him. I started crying immediately – I don’t even remember if I said yes!
He put the ring on my finger and my hands were shaking. We took a few pictures to capture the view and that moment and drove out of the Sequoias newly engaged. I was completely taken by surprise. When we got to our Airbnb, it had beautiful newly-engaged touches. There were wedding pictures, proposal pictures and wedding reception favors throughout the home. It felt like a honeymoon. The next day was New Year’s Eve and we drove back into town sharing the news with our families. They were ecstatic for us! Later that evening, we rang in the new year in this new chapter of our relationship!
