Ellen and Casey met at Justin-Siena during their junior year of high school. Ellen's first memory of Casey is when she saw him from a distance and noticed his stunningly bright blue eyes and his thick long brown curls. He joined the group Ellen ate lunch with and he rarely brought a lunch and so Ellen would say, "Do you want my tomatoes?" and they would both laugh, he never did take up the offer! A few months later, the Tournabout dance (where the girls ask the guys) was approaching and so Ellen decided she would ask Casey to the dance. She made cupcakes that spelled out "Tournabout, Casey?" and he promptly replied, "Sure!" And so it began on February 4, 2011. It wasn't until the night of the dance that they became "Facebook official" on February 26, 2011, at a Buckhorn Grill in Napa. Oh, and they may have gotten a detention at the dance, but they ended up being paired together to pick up trash around campus anyway. (Thanks, Mr. Meyer!)

Fast forward seven years and some days and the date is March 9, 2018. Casey planned a trip for Ellen's birthday (better late than never!) down to Monterey Bay for the weekend. They arrived at the Merritt House Inn for check in and drop off their suitcases and decide to walk to Fisherman's Warf for dinner. They chose Scales Seafood and Steak on the warf. They were sat at a table overlooking the marina and thus the sunset. The service was amazing and even gave Ellen a rose at the end of the meal. Afterward, the two decided to take a stroll to the beach and hopefully see the stars. They sat on the beach for some time not saying a word but enjoying each other's presence. They strolled a little bit further and Casey turned towards Ellen and said, "I wasn't able to give you the stars for our first kiss, and not even this time, but the clouds will have to do." Casey got down on one knee and asked, "Ellen, will you marry me?" Ellen couldn't control her emotions, and through tears of joy said, "Yes!"