Ricky and Alex are both Denver natives – Ricky grew up in north then south Denver, and Alex in southwest Denver. They both ended up at John F. Kennedy High School. Since they were three years apart, the couple didn’t meet until much later. In the summer of 2006, Alex was on her high school “senior trip” in Cancun, Mexico with her fellow classmates. Ricky was on a family vacation at the same time in, you guessed it, Cancun, Mexico. On Alex’s last night of the trip, she and her classmates made their way to Coco Bongo – a Broadway-show-like night club. Serendipitously, Ricky, his brother, cousin and friend (all who are groomsmen in the wedding) were also at Coco Bongo that evening. Alex and Ricky spent the night dancing and ordering Blue Lagoons – a sugary, blue drink the couple would now stay far away from. After that magical night, of wearing sunglasses in the club and exchanging phone numbers, they went home to Denver, Colorado and proceeded with their individual lives. Ricky was attending the University of Colorado in Boulder and Alex began her first year as a University of Northern Colorado student. They kept in touch occasionally, but were on their own separate paths. In 2010, the year Alex graduated from college, Ricky reached out to Alex via Facebook. He apologized saying his friends may have sent her a Facebook message. Alex never received a message because there never was a message, Ricky was just making a move. They went on their first (real) date in January of 2011.

Ricky proposed to Alex on the morning of February 3, 2018. His plan of asking Alex to marry him at the Dillon, CO ice castles was derailed after Alex made a comment about not wanting to get engaged in an uber public place. They had just woken up – Alex still had her retainers in (isn’t Ricky a lucky guy?!) – Ricky put their dog Tori on the bed with them, then got down on one knee and proposed. Alex said yes and burst into tears. Alex likes to ask Ricky to re-propose because she blacked out during the actual proposal. Ricky and Alex called their families to tell them the happy news. Tori had no idea what was going on, so she just slept nearby because she’s an old-lady dog.