Believe it or not, our story started in the halls of South Western High School. He was known as a class charmer while I was more the type-A student who would freak out before every math class and insisted on having perfect attendance. Jared picked up on this and swept in to help with my math homework on multiple occasions. Leading into senior year, we hung out a few times and realized that something more was there. We managed a long distance relationship in college through daily phone calls, occasional Skype dinner dates (a Valentine tradition), and seeing each other every few weeks. Thankfully post-grad jobs brought us back home and the rest you could say is history.

After Jared proposed, he filled me in on the fact that he googled, "things you should do when you get engaged". Yes, this happened and somehow the whole thing seemed completely normal and natural. He met with my parents a few weeks prior and prompted my mom to get my nails done because "that's what the websites said." My mom took me to get my nails done before my trip to visit Jared in Florida and insisted I needed it done because of my cousin's wedding (which was taking place in a few weeks). I didn't really question it other than the fact that my mother was just in the nail salon three days prior. My mom is really good at pulling off a secret and although it was strange she was just there days prior, it really wasn't too weird because it's Gina. Flash forward a few days and I'm flying to Florida to visit Jared during the last few days of his work trip. I booked an ocean front room in South Beach and planned a dinner for the evening. The key is that I planned the hotel, dinner and the walk on the beach. Jared knows I'm a creature of habit and took advantage of this. He even knew that I would want a picture on the beach so he propped a camera on the lifeguard stand and took a picture. As we smiled, he turned to me and started explaining why he loved me. After three "oh my gods and shut ups" I said yes! I was completely caught off guard and surprised - just what I wanted. Even without Google guidance, Jared still would have surprised me and made this one of the most memorable days of my life. Ironically, the code word for the ring between him and his brothers was "lobster". Little did Jared know, he would become a living lobster from the Miami sun.