How We Met
We both had just moved to Atlanta in 2015 to start new jobs. I had moved from Miami in June and Mike had moved from Minneapolis in August. Shortly thereafter I got a Facebook message asking me to dinner, since we had so many mutual friends, which is based on the fact that Mike had dated someone in my sorority pledge class for many years. I agreed to go out with Mike based on the fact I thought very highly of the girl he had dated for so long – so he couldn’t have been that bad! Turns out, we also had attended UF for our masters degrees at the same time in 2013 but never met then either. It was as if we were finally in the right places in our lives for our paths to cross.
Our first date was a restaurant called Mi Cocina in midtown Atlanta (which has since closed) on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. Mike picked it because it was close to my apartment, but I remember it was raining so I ended up taking an uber and got there late. I think Mike thought I wasn’t going to show up! We really hit it off, talking for hours in the restaurant even though we were one of the only ones there. Our second date was that Saturday on Halloween where Mike took me to dinner at a restaurant called Superica. He kissed me when he dropped me off at my apartment that night, and after that I knew he was someone special. Ever since then, we’ve been inseparable!
how they asked
Since Mike and I started dating, we found out we have a great time traveling together so we’ve taken several trips – Asheville, NYC, and Napa – all in a years time! We just have so much fun together and enjoy seeing new places. We decided to plan a trip to Hawaii since Mike has been working out there and we figured I could tag along the next time he went out there. I was born in Hawaii and lived there until I was about 7, so I had been dying to go back ever since.
We decided to fly in on a Saturday and spend several days in Honolulu since Mike worked that Mon & Tues. We both really wanted to see another island while we were there, so we decided to spend Wed-Fri in Kauai. We had been talking more and more about getting married and I thought MAYBE he would ask me in Hawaii [since it would be meaningful to me] but we had not looked at rings or even talked about them, so I brushed it off. I wanted to enjoy this trip and I knew we’d have a great time regardless. We got to our hotel in Waikiki beach and one of the first things he asked was whether we should use the safe for our computers. He decided against it, and from then on I assumed there was no way he had a ring!!
We spent our time exploring pretty much the entire island of Oahu – stopping at Turtle Bay in the North Shore, Kailua, Diamond Head, and Waikiki beach and had an amazing time. However, we were really excited for the 2nd part of our trip to Kauai as Mike was officially taking vacation and had heard such great things about the island. When we woke up on Wednesday to fly to Kauai, it seemed like everything was going wrong. After trouble in the airport, record rain and humidity in Kauai when we landed (and plans cancelled as a result), and getting “upgraded” to a noisy room due to construction, we were hungry and deflated. Mike suggested we go on a walk in the rain. We walked around the grounds, on the pathway alongside the beach and walked up to this cliff (we found out later this is called Shipwreck Beach). I really didn’t want to walk up the cliff in flip flops (saying we should do it the next day in real shoes) but Mike insisted.
We kept walking alongside the cliff and Mike saw a lookout spot he wanted to climb up. I told him I would wait for him at the bottom, haha! He went up there and told me to come up because it wasn’t that hard and he’d help me, so I did (against my will!). When we got up there, I was so glad he made me get up – the views were incredible. At that point, he got on one knee in the sand and asked me to marry him! I think he said something like “even on the worst days…” – the rest I didn’t hear, it was so surreal and I was honestly was so shocked!
I couldn’t even get the words out! I may have even fallen off the cliff had he not grabbed me closer to him! And then I said yes, of course :) He later told me he had been carrying the ring around with him waiting for the right moment. There was nobody around and it felt so intimate and special – I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. We went back to that spot on Friday before we left when the sun was shining and it was even more beautiful. I’m beyond thrilled to spend the rest of my life with him! Needless to say, the rest of the trip turned way around!!
