You know what they say, there is always two sides to a story... Brennen's Side: One of the first days of sophomore year I left the gym, fresh off a workout with a couple of my future best men, feeling unnecessarily confident to have shed the "freshman status". As we debated between what thirty rack we'd attempt to finish that night, the "sophomore back from summer" confidence and my heart simultaneously dropped like a rock as I watched a blonde-haired, green-eyed, tan beauty with a smile as bright as the sun walk across the lawn. This beauty happened to be a freshman named Allison. Much to my liking, she ended up sitting next to me on our first day of English literature. Referring to her as "Allison from English class", I continuously pointed her out to all my friends for two months straight without actually making a move. While her smile is both warming and inviting to everyone, it left me in awe, and I truly didn't know what to say when she'd come my way. Thankfully, her strength and persistence shined through as she made damn sure we spoke and got to know each other that fateful night in the 5-men dorms. Thank God she did, as 5 years later I feel like the luckiest man alive for locking down my one and only "love at first sight". Allison's Side: Being a young freshman in college, how did I get so lucky to have 2 classes my first semester with this hunk? We spent almost an entire semester without speaking to each other unless it was related to Computer Science and English Literature, it's amazing we made it this far, isn't it? A few months into the school year, I decided I was going to break that conversation chain and chase him around the upperclassmen dorms on a Saturday night until I wasn't just "Allison from English" (yep, that is exactly how he introduced me to all his roomies at the party). The next morning I woke up to a facebook message asking for my number, and well, here we are!

Picture this: A grumpy, tired girl being chauffeured to her favorite summer spot by her favorite guy at 10:30 p.m. on a Friday night. We have always talked about watching the sunrise over North Beach while laying on the wall, listening the waves crash against the rocks, but did we really have to do it THIS morning? A morning followed by late night travels and very little sleep. YES. The theme of this oh so perfect proposal is yes. I so vividly remember saying to Brennen, "you can set an alarm and wake me up when it's time to go" because I knew once 4:30 a.m struck, he would definitely not be able to get out of bed (or so I thought). But what do you know? 4:30 a.m. sharp I feel him poking at my arm whispering, "Ally, wake up". I peel open my eyes that feel like they weigh 100 pounds each to him standing over me (in jeans and a nice shirt, might I add). The first thing that blurts out of my mouth, "ummm..why are you wearing that?" Gosh, he must have been shaking in his boots, but as always, he handled it so calmly that I totally fell for his excuse. "I only packed swim trunks and this outfit, it's probably a little cold out there". Sounds believable doesn't it? Here's the kicker, I strolled right out of bed in my pajamas, grabbed a MAINE hoodie, my blanket, and followed him to the ocean. We sat on The Wall for a while, documenting basically every second with our GoPro and IPhone cameras. It was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen. Just as the sun was peaking out over the ocean, Brennen asked me to stand up so he could get a picture of me looking out at the sunrise. By the time I had turned back around, there he was, down on one knee. From there, I really only remember wrapping my whole body around him with pure tears of happiness. The best part is, our families both got to witness the best day of our lives to date. Our morning ended as fiancés with 5:00 a.m. mimosas on the beach!