“Blue Jeep is here!” was a typical statement I'd say when I would look outside at random times of the day to find Bea’s blue Jeep Cherokee. Corina’s family would come visit Grandma Maria, (Corina’s maternal grandma) at least once a month. Did I mention Corina’s grandma lives across the street from my mom’s house? In case you don’t know; Corina and I are childhood sweethearts. I would go outside when the blue Jeep would arrive. It didn’t matter if this was at 8 AM or 8 PM, I would check the mail or look for my wallet in the car. I made up any reason to go outside. I remember the 1st time I realized Corina was a soccer player; Corina walked into Grandma’s, house half asleep. She had her pillow in one hand and a blanket in another. When she got out of the car she had on Kappa gear! And so a little crush between the neighbors began… Fast forward few years later to December 1, 2010. I decided to celebrate my 27th bday with a root canal. When I got home from the dentist I parked, got out of my truck and coincidently Corina was parking across the street! This is the moment I used one of my pickup lines that always worked... Well actually she said hi first, because I was too nervous, but who’s counting? I told her it was my birthday and she said, “I love birthdays”. I then asked her, when she was going to take me out!? We exchanged phone numbers, I had to hide my phone because I already had her number saved. I would tell her this secret but months later. That’s a story for another time. That same night we went out on our first date to Coffee Bean. It was a Wednesday. It was cold, we sat outside and after about 2 hours of nonstop talking, I subtly asked, “So you want to go to Vegas and get married now or...?” She thought I was kidding. Since our first date, we’ve been inseparable. Fast forward to September 4, 2011, I asked her to marry me again, this time I had a ring-pop! She thought I was kidding again. I needed to step up my game if she was going to take me seriously.

Fast forward again to October 30, 2015. Note: this took me years to plan but to summarize: the band, La Santa Cecilia was playing at a concert we went to. Their song, "Como Dios Manda", immediately became OUR song. November 3, 2017 La Santa Cecilia was going to perform at UCSB. This was the perfect opportunity to propose. I contacted the band and asked them to help me with my proposal. I convinced Corina we won a raffle to see them rehearse so we would have to go to the show early. When we walked into the auditorium, we were surprised that class was in session! Awkward! We waited 30 mins for class to be dismissed. To make matters worse, La Santa Cecelia was VERY late. The manager said they were stuck in traffic 2 hrs away! Luckily, Corina was addicted to some Disney game on her phone so she was completely oblivious to the meltdown I was having. What felt like an eternity later, La Santa Cecilia finally arrives. They ran inside the auditorium. Now I’m FREAKING out... While Corina is having fun on her phone. The band calls me and says, “GO”! We ran inside and sat in the front. They eventually play our song, so I asked her to dance with me. While we danced, I whispered in her ear, “Who’s that?” as I pointed behind us. She realized its Grandma, her mom, sisters and brother who drove from Riverside. She was in shock. I was already on one knee by the time she looked back to me. Since our first date I knew I was going to marry Corina. She is the neighbor! Apparently, she would talk about me too. To anyone that would listen but especially to Grandma. She would tell Grandma, “Look, Grandma, my boyfriend is outside. He loves me. He just doesn’t know it yet”. Don’t believe me? Ask Grandma. So now you know the beginning of our love story. As you should because you are a significant person in our lives. Every one of our wedding guests is extremely important to us so we thank you for being present on what is sure to be the happiest, craziest, and most beautiful day of our lives.