How We Met
Chris and I met the old-fashioned way: on Tinder! He had just moved to LA and a co-worker suggested it as a way of meeting new people. I had been swiping right and left (unsuccessfully) on and off for a couple of years and had just decided the week prior that I was going to give it one last shot and be more aggressive about it.
And by “aggressive” I meant I would message my matches first and not wait for them to reach out. I sent Chris a message that said “You look like fun!” because he really did. Chris has an energy and smile that lights up the room and in this case, lit up his profile. I couldn’t not reach out to him. We made plans that weekend to meet in Santa Monica and go to the beach. While waiting to meet him at a coffee shop nearby, I texted him to let him know he could easily spot me by the neon pink backpack I was wearing. He strolled up just a few minutes later wearing his own neon green backpack. It was love at first swipe.
how they asked
About a week or so prior, Chris casually mentioned he had a photographer friend who needed photos for some magazine project. He was vague about which magazine, which was a little strange. He asked if I would be able to take pictures with him the following Thursday and mentioned his brother and his brother’s girlfriend would also be getting their pictures taken too and we would all have dinner together afterward. I didn’t think much of it at the time. The week of the “photo shoot” he started asking questions about what I was going to wear and if I was going to have my nails done. I had cancelled a nail appointment that week and he kept asking if I was going to paint my nails or not. “Don’t you want them to look nice for the photos?” he tried to casually query. That immediately made me suspicious. I made a comment to my boss about this photo shoot and how I thought Chris might propose. She reassured me that it was definitely too soon and probably not going to happen. (She had been conspiring with Chris all along). She then texted Chris and told him what I had said and warned him I was catching on. Chris then decided to fake me out the night before the photo shoot by saying we could reschedule it if I was too busy with work. While it WAS a busy week at work, I told him we should keep the appointment since I had already PAINTED MY NAILS.
The next evening, we met Chris’s friend, Ryan (the photographer). He was so professional and even brought his own assistant. He gave us so much direction about what he wanted done that I thought “Well…maybe this IS legit and he isn’t going to propose.” Things began to wind down and nothing happened. I could feel myself getting a little disappointed and had to tell myself I was being silly. I knew this would happen one day but today wasn’t the day. And that was okay. We were standing on the beach in Santa Monica (the location of our first date, as you’ll recall) and things were wrapping up and we were getting ready to head over to dinner when he grabbed my hand and said he had to ask me a question. I could feel my heart stop. I’ll never forget him getting down on one knee. He told me he knew from the day we met he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.
He made me the happiest girl in the world that day and I still get teary-eyed when I think about it. I’m so grateful he had a photographer there the entire time, documenting the proposal. The pictures are amazing and such a treasure. I’ll never forget that day. It’s the happiest day of my life (so far!).
