(from Carmen's point of view): I first saw Daniel when I was visiting his roommate in Berkeley. I saw him washing dishes, but I didn't get to actually meet him until we went on a group hike in Berkeley. He told me about the frogs in his research lab, and I told him about the rats in my research lab. With both of us being Biology majors, we started to spend a lot of time together studying and one day, he asked me to study without the books, his awkward way of asking me out on a date. So we had our first date at Philz Coffee and Skates on the Bay, a restaurant at the Berkeley Marina. The next day after class, we picked up lunch and he walked with me to Lower Sproul, where he got down on one knee (jokingly) and asked me to be his girlfriend (not jokingly). Since then, we've been together for almost 7 years this coming April!

(from Daniel's point of view) It all began in mid-April, when I had an inception meeting with my close group of friends, who I knew I could trust to execute a covert operation. My vision was this - lots, and lots of glowing lights, with her favorite song First Time (acoustic) by Seven Lions playing in the background. Luckily we had just booked a trip to Vegas for Carmen’s birthday, and since it's one of her favorite places, I thought it would be the perfect place to propose. We designed a portable string-light tent with a trail of rose petals leading up to a nice backdrop and flowers, where I planned to propose. One of our friends got a suite, where we built the setup in the living room. Since this was a group trip, it was hard finding time away to set up for the proposal. Our friends took many “naps” and had many “stomach aches” in order to find time to set everything up. Before dinner on June 14, I told Carmen to stop by our friend’s suite for a birthday surprise. As we walked through the door, lights dimmed, rose petals on the floor, with First Time playing, I think she instantly knew what was happening. In the middle of the light tent was a small black notebook that we exchange love letters since we first started dating. I had her read a well-articulated letter I wrote down in our book and got down on one knee to propose. She said yes! Then we celebrated with all our friends with a lot of red velvet cake (her favorite!), and went to the club. The rest is history!