Chantel first spotted a side view of Drew at a Myers Briggs personality workshop the day before their white coat ceremony. As luck would have it, they both ended up being in the NT personality category and were thus placed in the same group. Upon seeing his face in full and making brief eye contact, she smiled and thought to herself, “He might be my husband.” She had hoped to strike up a conversation after the workshop, but he disappeared. A couple days later, they ran into each other right before they both entered the auditorium for a lecture. He immediately noticed the deep dimples that accompanied her smile and wanted to meet her. Little did he know, Chantel had enlisted the help of a friend to make that happen. At a Friday night vespers a few weeks later, they had a conversation that lasted for hours. Though Drew was a bit too nervous to ask for her number that night, he made up for that missed opportunity by asking her the following Monday. Their first date was the very next day and Drew knew that she was the one for him. Many more dates followed and they mutually decided to make things official a little over a month later.

Although Christmas had just passed, Drew still had one more gift up his sleeve. It was time for a trip to Balboa Island, which neither he nor Chantel had been to before. He had everything planned. The quick ferry ride to the island opened up a day of fun exploration for the two of them. After finding a cute local place to eat lunch, they spent the day exploring the historic community. As the sunset began to roll in, Drew suggested heading down to the beach. While traversing the side of the shore, they could see dolphins swimming near the surface. They passed by a couple beach homes they liked and climbed up to higher ground to take a closer look. When the moment was right, Drew instructed Chantel to keep checking out the houses and to not turn around while he went to “check something out.” He soon slid down the sand dune wall, out of view. Upon landing, he quickly unpacked the flameless candles and flower petals from his backpack onto the beach floor. With a perfect sunset quickly approaching, he rushed back to his soon-to-be fiancée. He then led her, with his hands covering her eyes, down to his creation. When she was finally allowed to open her eyes, there was a heart shaped arrangement of crimson flower petals and bright, flameless candles. Hand in hand, they strolled to the center where Drew got down on one knee. He then recited a poem he had written for her on their first Valentine’s Day and asked her, “Will you marry me?” With much nodding and with tears of joy in her eyes, she exclaimed, “Yes!!!”

Though COVID-19 delayed the original wedding plans, Chantel and Drew did not let that delay their union. With only three in-person witnesses and a handful of other participants and family members Zooming in, they exchanged vows on a Saturday evening at her parent’s house.

That story has yet to unfold. We look forward to celebrating our marriage with more family and friends in December!