We met in college at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Our first in-person encounter was at a campus bus stop—a fleeting moment that neither of us knew would change our lives. For our first date, Chris took Maria to Déjà Vu Café. It was there he discovered—too late—that she was vegetarian! He spent the evening apologizing, but luckily for him, Maria wasn’t too hungry. After dinner, we walked to a breathtaking cliff overlooking the ocean, letting the waves and starlit sky wrap around us in quiet magic. Just a few days later, standing on that same cliff, we shared our first kiss. From that moment on, we were inseparable, spending every day together. And then came the day we went to church together. Sitting there, glancing at each other, we both felt it deep in our hearts—this was something special.

Remember that special cliff where we first spent time together and later shared our first kiss? Six years later, that same spot became the place where Chris began his proposal to Maria. With the help of our closest friends and family, the cliff was transformed into a walk through of our love story. Portraits from each year we had been together lined the path, surrounded by smaller snapshots of our journey. As Maria took it all in, just below the cliff, our loved ones stood waiting—each holding a rose, ready to hand it to her as she walked down the aisle they had formed. At the end of that path stood Chris, waiting for the moment to ask, “Will you marry me?” And just when Maria thought the surprises were over, Chris had one more in store—a celebration. He drove Maria to a new destination, where even more family and friends were waiting, ready to celebrate our engagement and the beginning of the next chapter of us.