How we met
Chelsea: Robby and I met in the hallways of high school. To be honest, I don’t remember who passed the first note but I do remember that our first date was at California Pizza kitchen and our first kiss was in the overly romantic school parking lot (sorry dad.) We dated my junior year, his senior year and me being an oh so wise fifteen-year-old, I called it quits with Robby before he left for college. He and I went our separate ways and as the time passed we lost touch completely.
Fast forward 5 years, I saw a news article being passed around on Facebook acknowledging him making the All Star team with the Boston Red Sox. I’m pretty sure I gasped out loud and felt this immediate ping of excitement for him. I’m still not sure if it was a sliver of blind fate or if I have pure boredom to thank but I decided that after years of silence I would reach out to congratulate him. As I scrolled through my phone looking for his name I quickly realized that I no longer had his number! So, I resorted to a Facebook message. I typed up something short and sweet hit “send” and didn’t think about it twice. Little did I know the power of a Facebook message. Not but 3 minutes later, my phone dings – it’s was a text message from Robby. It may sound crazy but the rest is history. We spoke every day for the next few months building a relationship on the foundation of communication and getting to know each other again. At this point in life I was living in Los Angeles and he was making his way through the minor league baseball system so it wasn’t the easiest of tasks to see one another. Needless to say, FaceTime became our lifeline and we had many virtual dinner dates together.
That December my flight home for the holidays happened to fall on the same day as Robby’s family annual Christmas party. I originally told him that I wouldn’t be able to come because I wanted to spend time with my family but when the wheels touched down at the Fort Lauderdale airport I had an instant change of heart. I dropped off my bags, changed my clothes and there I was, on the way to go see Robby for the first time in 5 years. I will never forget making the drive to Miami catching my reflection in the rear view mirror laughing at myself thinking that the last time he and I saw each other, we were in school uniforms! I walked into the party acting confident as ever but internally I couldn’t have been more nervous. I swear to you I felt like I was in a movie scene when he and I caught eyes from across the room. The morning after the party I rolled over and the urge of wanting to see him again hit me like a ton of bricks before my feet even hit the floor. I laid there staring at the ceiling fan thinking to myself, “here we go Chels.” We spent the remainder of the holiday break together and I may or may not have switched my flight to spend a few extra days with him. When the time came to drop me off at the airport Robby promised that we would find a way to make it all work. We survived and dominated 2+ years of coast to coast long distance, racked up frequent flyer miles, learned to be each other’s biggest supporters despite the miles and made the most out of each and every visit.
how they asked
Robby: I knew from day one that she was the one. When the day came to propose, I couldn’t control my nerves and emotions leading up until the moment. Once we stepped foot on the sand, I was walking very fast, especially for my pace, to the spot where the photographer and I had picked out a few days prior. The whole day I kept saying to myself, just get to the spot, just get to the spot. It was such a beautiful setting and everything went perfectly!! I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Chelsea: I had a ‘routine’ trip booked to visit Robby in Ft. Myers, Florida during spring training. A few days before my scheduled flight he told me that he made dinner reservations at a beach side restaurant so we could enjoy a romantic night out. When in a long distance relationship having a date night to look forward to basically gives you the same butterflies as when your parents told you that you were going to Disney World as a kid. I ran out, bought a new dress threw the prefect shade of lipstick in my bag and I was wheels up to the east coast. The day of “date night” everything couldn’t have seemed more normal. He spent the day at the baseball field, I was running around doing my thing then we both got ready to head to what I believed was a dinner for two. We pulled to the restaurant and he suggested that since we were a few minutes early that we should walk on the beach and catch the sunset. As soon as our toes hit the sand Robby started to break out into a borderline jog. Now, let me tell you that Robby is one of the slowest walkers I know so I remember thinking, “where the heck is he going so quickly?!” After a short walk we stopped to admire the colorful sky. I turned around to soak in the beautiful view and as I turned back around there he was looking handsome as ever down on one knee.
I had never felt such a rush of emotions before in my entire life. I don’t even know if I cried or screamed out of joy first or if I spoke any words at all but I’m pretty sure my heart was on the verge of bursting. Once he slipped the most perfect ring on my finger I asked him, “Do my parents know?” He hugged me and as the words “they are all here” could slip off his tongue we heard loud cheering from a distance. I looked over and the surprises kept on coming.
I saw my brother, who doubles as my best friend, come running down the beach and I completely lost it. I was a crying mess. Shortly following him were my parents, 4 of my childhood girlfriends, Robby’s parents, sister, brother and 5 of our dearest friends that we couldn’t survive the baseball world without. Post picture-taking and congratulatory hugs we were taken to a darling table at the restaurant full of presents, flowers, champagne and enjoyed dinner with the biggest smiles on our faces. It was the best night of my entire life and if I’m being transparent, I’m sitting here with the happiest flow of tears running down my face.
To our family and friends: Thank you for making our engagement night nothing short of a dream. Your ability to keep it a secret from me still has me shaking my head in amazement!!
To Robby: You are my whole entire heart and I will forever have butterflies knowing that you chose me.
