We met in physical therapy school and quickly became a study group and instant friends. Although we didn't start dating until the last weeks of PT school, our relationship as friends provided us with a lasting foundation for our romantic relationship.

R: Our first date technically wasn't a first date. Connor tells this story best because he knew it was a date. C: It was totally a date. I asked Rach if she wanted to go to the DBacks game with me, and she said, "Sure!" So then I asked her if I could pick her up from her house, and how about we go grab dinner beforehand--to which she agreed to do. When we get to dinner and sit down, the first thing Rach asks me is, "Hey Connor. How's your dating life going?" ...a few moments of silence... and then I respond with, "Uhh... Rach... This is a date." "What?! No it's not!" "Rach, I picked you up from your house... I paid for your dinner... And I paid for your DBacks ticket. It's a date." ... more silence... And honestly, neither of remember the rest of that conversation at dinner on our FIRST date. So we go to the game, and I'm trying to play into it some more and make it more awkward for Rach as we're walking to the game from dinner. "So, since this is a date, how bout we hold hands?" *reaches for Rachel's hand* --- And then she pulls her hand away. "Alright... so since this is a date, how bout I put my arm around you?" To which she quickly ducks and dodges my arm... "Ok... so since this is a date... how bout we... do this?" I put my arm out and she reaches hers through mine. So then we get to the game in the middle of the 2nd inning, and we're in the nosebleeds on the third base line. As Rach walks up to our row, she pauses, and looks back at me confused. "Are you sure this is our row?" "Yeah this is us! What's wrong Rach?" "Didn't you say that our classmates were gonna be here...???" "Yeah!" "So... where are they?" "Haha, uhh... in the lower level in right field..." And the rest is history!

Rachel and Connor - we both fell in love with Seattle, WA during Connor's PT school clinical rotations. Rachel would visit Connor to escape the summer heat in 2019 and Connor would occasionally return to the AZ desert to visit her and family. For Rachel's birthday in August of 2021, they went to Seattle again. Rachel and Connor went to Whidbey Island on a kayak tour around the area. Towards the end of the tour, they found out that if you go on a private kayak tour, you can go explore the beach. Connor asked Rachel if she'd want to come back in the future with some more of their friends for a private tour, and Rachel said that she thought it would be a lot of fun! And so the seeds for the proposal were planted. In 2022, Connor devised a plan to propose to Rachel in Washington, at Whidbey Island, while on the kayak tour. Connor told Rachel that they should go to Seattle again for his 28th birthday, and that they should invite their friends to do the private kayak tour they had talked about back in August. But secretly, the "birthday trip" was all a disguise for the proposal. They landed in Seattle with a group of their friends on Connor's birthday in April. Thursday and Friday were spent exploring the city, hiking, and eating great food. Saturday was the day of the kayak tour and the proposal. Everbody woke up early, drove to the ferry, rode the ferry to Whidbey Island, and arrived at the kayak tour. And off everyone went on the tour! But! Secretly, Rachel's family and Connor's family had flown out to Seattle as well! While the friends were out on the kayak tour, the families helped set up the most beautiful setting for a proposal on the beach--an aisle lined with driftwood, picture frames of different pictures from Connor and Rachel's relationship lining the aisle, rose petals scattered throughout, ending with a heart outline of rose petals. When the friends arrived back to the beach, Connor and Rachel were the last ones to beach and get out of the kayaks. As they got out, the friends waited with anticipation on the beach--phones/cameras at the ready--and the families hid behind the stacks of driftwood waiting to celebrate. Rachel, in perfect Rachel fashion, doesn't notice any of the setup on the beach, and starts walking up the ramp towards the cars! So Connor had to grab her hand and pull her towards the aisle with the proposal setup. "Hey Rach, who are these pictures of?" To which she smiles, realizes what's happening, and they begin to walk down the aisle of memory lane. Connor gets on one knee, asks Rachel to marry him, and of course she says, "Yes!" Watch the video above to see the proposal, and check out some of the pictures from the proposal on the pictures page! None of it would have been possible without the help of their family, friends, and coworkers who ALL kept it a secret! Rachel literally had no idea that it was happening, until she was walking down the aisle.