How We Met
Tyler and I met in Downtown Los Gatos in 2014 after his sister invited him out with us. I had worked with Nikkie for a year by that time and had become Best Friends. I had just had knee surgery, so my girls wanted to get me out of the house. We went to Petroglyph to paint some pottery and Tyler met us there. We all sat around talking and having a great time. I remember Tyler being so relatable and having a lot in common with our likes and dislikes. His sister had mentioned before that Tyler and I had similar interests, so it didn’t come as a surprise when meeting him. Being that is was around Christmas time, after we were done Tyler drove us around to look at some Christmas lights. The girls and I wanted a picture in front of one of the houses, so he took one for us, and of course, I needed a copy, so I gave him my number to send it to me. Little did I know, that sparked a brand-new friendship.
We would see each other every now and then when I would come over to hang out with his sister or when sending a random text. His 21st birthday was coming up and he invited our whole group of friends to Lake Tahoe with them for the weekend. We all had the best time and I taught him how to play video poker for the first time. The weekend overall was full of great memories. During this trip, we both figured out that we are both Disney freaks, and wanted to plan a trip to Disneyland sometime.
Disneyland was always a way to get a conversation flowing between us. So, we figured it was time to plan a trip. We were going to go just as friends, no big deal. My birthday was coming up in a month or so and he was wanting to get me a gift. I said, “No way, you don’t have to get me anything”, but he insisted. Tyler ended up surprising me with the Broadway showing of The Lion King in San Francisco. I couldn’t believe it. Nobody has ever gotten me such a thoughtful and amazing gift; I was so excited. (Crazy to think, we were still only friends at this point).
Since my birthday was coming up, I was planning to go bar hopping with some of my friends. We all met up for dinner before and I had invited Tyler out with all of us. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make it. I found myself being sad that he wouldn’t be there because I loved hanging out with him. We were finishing up dinner and I look up and guess who walked through the door, TYLER!! I was so excited, and we were just getting ready to do cupcakes and sing Happy Birthday. I pulled a chair up next to me for him to sit and we chatted a bit before moving on to the next event.
During the duration of the night, I kept thinking to myself that I am pretty sure I am falling for this guy. We had so much in common, he was an old soul (as am I), he was kind, and I could go on and on. The point finally came where he was getting ready to leave and I was so sad I didn’t get to spend more time with him. It finally clicked that I really do like this guy and I HAD to see if he liked anyone or was seeing anyone. So, who else do I turn to… his Sister (my best friend) I casually asked if her brother liked anyone or was seeing anyone (without giving away that I like him) and she said that she thought he liked somebody from his work. So, I said “oh, okay” and went about my night.
A few days go by and Tyler and I are texting again and somehow, the night of my birthday came up. I told myself that I was just going to ask him straight up if he was talking to anyone. He said he was not, and I was like “Your sister told me you were talking to someone from work” and he was like
“WHAT?!?” I then told him that I liked him, and he said that he liked me, and we had a total high school moment and a good laugh once all was said and done.
His sister’s wedding was in a month and I was a bridesmaid in the wedding. Tyler and I had been talking for a few weeks now and he had asked me to be his date for the wedding. We went on a few dates in between my birthday and the wedding. By the time the wedding came around, we were inseparable. If you see the wedding photos, you can see us in the corner the whole time talking to each other. The next day we were getting everything packed up and ready to go and walking around the hotel. We kept bumping into his family members, and when we walked by you could hear little whispers about us and what was going on between us. It was the funniest thing. We didn’t tell people we were talking because we didn’t want to ruin anything (a total Monica and Chandler moment for anyone who watches friends). He invited me to come to hang out with him and some family in Half Moon Bay while they were in town. We arrived at the beach house and because we were so tired ended up falling asleep on the couch listening to the whole Fleetwood Mac album. It was really relaxing and chill and I felt so happy at that moment. I knew I had never felt that way with anybody else before. Leaving the beach house that night while he was still there was the hardest thing for me to do. I wasn’t used to that feeling, it was all so new to me.
It was now the Wednesday after the wedding, and I told Tyler I was going to pick up my bouquet from his house after work (basically an excuse to come and see him). We were hanging out on the couch for what felt like 10 minutes, turns out it was about 3-4 hours and it was now almost midnight. I told him I should probably go because I had to be up early for work, and he walked me out. We were standing outside of his house for a few minutes talking and he then asked me if I would be his girlfriend. I, of course, said yes, he kissed me and that’s when I knew my life would forever be different in the best way possible.
How They Asked
Tyler had told me a few months in advance that he had a surprise birthday weekend planned for me. I was so excited because one, I love surprises and two, I am also really hard to surprise, so I knew this would be an interesting couple of months. I was thinking he would spill the beans at some point or slip up, but that never happened.
On the morning of my big birthday surprise weekend, he said we are going to go to breakfast. We ended up in Santa Cruz at one of our favorite restaurants, The Crow’s Nest. We had an amazing breakfast enjoying one another’s company and the ocean views. We had eaten pretty quickly, and we were getting ready to go on to our next adventure when he saw a little shop and asked if I wanted to go look around. Knowing that I am a sucker for cute little shops, of course, I said yes. For a split second, I was wondering why he would want to look around instead of moving on to the next thing, but I also didn’t think too much about it, since I was getting to shop.
We then walk over to the beach to look around a little bit and we run into this group of people playing the ukulele. It was a group of like 40 people and the coolest thing. This wasn’t part of the plan but it turns out, this will be helpful in the end to kill some time. I was then getting antsy, wanting to move on to the next part of this big birthday surprise!
So, we head to the car and off we go onto my next surprise. We hop onto highway 1 and start cruising the coast, I had a pretty good feeling we were headed to Half Moon Bay. We both LOVE Half Moon Bay and go quite often, so it was just an educated guess. As we were driving, he told me that we would be arriving early for our lunch and asked if I would want to stop off at one of the beaches we were passing. So, of course, I said yes, because who doesn’t love the beach?! I pull off into the parking lot, and I went to pay the fee and next thing I know I hear people yelling my name… I look over and both of our ENTIRE FAMILIES are standing in the parking lot holding a sign that says Happy Birthday. Tyler threw a surprise party for me!!! I couldn’t believe it, that was something I had always dreamed of happening, so it was perfect. To top it off, he arranged for my Best Friend to be there all the way from Texas!!!
Once we settled in, everyone had brought food, my Uncle was barbecuing and it was just a nice day. I was so surprised and just very excited to see everyone I loved in the same place at one time. My friends and I, when we go to a beach it always turns into a photoshoot. So my friend asked if I wanted to go take some pictures near the water. We all walked down to the water to make sure we got the best shot and while she was adjusting for the best lighting and making me move in all sorts of directions, she finally found what she needed and asked me to turn slightly. Next thing I knew, I turned to my left and Tyler was down on one knee in front of everyone asking me to spend the rest of my life with him.
This was one of the best moments of my life and I am so happy and excited to be able to spend the rest of forever with my best friend.