How We Met
Cesar and I met at a Stoney LaRue concert in 2018, in Midland, TX. He was at the concert to meet a woman for a blind date. He got stood up and decided to hang out with some people he met while getting drinks from the bar. He decided to stay for the concert because he genuinely liked the artist and wanted to stay for a good time. I was at the venue to meet Stoney LaRue with the bass player and drummer from my former band, which I played the fiddle for. The people Cesar met at the bar were standing next to the bass player and drummer from my band at the time. When I walked up to say hi, that is when I met Cesar for the first time. I remember when he told me his name I said “Oh, Cesar like the Palace. I won’t forget it.” And I obviously never did.
After the concert was over and before Cesar left, he shook everyone else’s hands but hugged me and said, “Hey, let me get your number before I leave.” My former bandmates just looked at me in shock because I genuinely gave him my real number without any thought, and I would never do that. Three days later we went on our first date. After 5 dates and Cesar attending his first show of mine, he made me his girlfriend.
How They Asked
Cesar loves vintage anything. 1930’s gangsters, Prohibition speakeasy, you name it. He got the idea to set up a 1940’s themed photoshoot. It did not seem that odd at first because Cesar is my photographer for all of my concerts and performances, so I am used to him taking pictures of me. Things started to seem weird when he said that he wanted to hire a photographer and be in the pictures as well. He ended up hiring my favorite photographer and friend, Seila Stone with the Stone Photo and Film out of Odessa, TX, which started to turn the photoshoot into a full-on event. Cesar picks out outfits, ordered clothes and shoes, had me get my hair done in a specific style he picked out and even called in a makeup artist. It turned into such an event that I remember saying to Cesar on that day while I was in makeup, “I feel like I am getting married.”
The week before the shoot, Cesar and I rode bikes downtown to scope out and pick some spots where we wanted to take photos. We ended up picking an old rustic theater that still programs shows, an old historic house owned by the city, and a street that had a canopy of trees. On the day of the proposal, Cesar and I started out the photo shoot at the old theater.
Then we went to the historic house. Our photographer Seila had Cesar do some spinning around shots where he grabbed me from behind, picked me up, and then spun me. We did the spinning shots about three times before Cesar started to say sweet things about his life with me thus far and how “commitment can be scary but it is nothing to be fearful of when you know you are in a relationship with the right person.” I had no idea what was going on up until the point when he started talking about commitment. That is when I started giggling because I knew what he was doing.
One of the things that Cesar and I have always laughed about is that he never asked me to be his girlfriend. He told me I was. So when he proposed he said “to keep the tradition alive, I am not going to ask you. Therefore, you will be my wife.” And then he of course, got down on one knee, said my entire name, and properly asked “Will you marry me?”
I was completely shocked by the entire day, photoshoot, and proposal. I laughed for about 45 minutes straight and then cried for about 3 hours after that. My life has never been dull since Cesar has been in it, and I know it never will be.