We're Finally Doing It!

While Lauren and David have known from very early on that they were committed to one another, the couple had never had any urgency to get married. Throughout the past two years, Lauren's Granny, Frieda, has been through a variety of health struggles, from breaking her hip, to catching pneumonia, and other ailments. A few months ago, at 95 years old, Granny Frieda's next few months seemed uncertain. Lauren is not a very picky bride to-be, but the one thing she has always wanted for her wedding is to have her grandmother present to share the experience. With this in mind, Lauren and David discussed in August that it might be time to get hitched. Since telling Granny about the plans, Granny's perspective and health have taken a positive turn. She's counting down the days to October 16th, and she's even been exercising with her caretaker to get ready. We're excited that Granny will be here for our special day and can't wait for you all to enjoy her company at the wedding.

We have our story below for those who are interested in reading more. The rest of the website has all the important information and details about the event itself. Please contact us if you have additional questions.

Lauren and David both ran on the cross country team at San Jose State University. Each year, a few weeks before school started, the men's and women's team were both bussed up to a cabin in Bear Valley, CA to train for a week. During Lauren's freshman year and David's sophomore year, Lauren and David exchanged a few words in between runs, but it wasn't until the third night when they really interacted with one another. That night, a handful of teammates watched a movie in the guy's cabin. About 20 minutes into the movie, David fell asleep on Lauren's shoulder. Lauren quickly exclaimed to the group, "ummm...this guy is asleep..." After that, David woke up, and mostly made it through the rest of the movie. Now, 14 years later, David still falls asleep during movies and Lauren has learned to let him be until it's time for bed. The Haefele family has dubbed this habit "pre-sleeps." Tom Haefele and all of his children share this quirk.

After both David and Lauren graduated from San Jose State University, they continued to live in San Jose for the next few years. While they both thoroughly enjoyed their time in downtown San Jose, David had always yearned to live near the coast, but Lauren needed to stay close to her family and Granny in Northern California. One day in April of 2013, David asked Lauren if she was willing to move over the hill to Santa Cruz, the only sizable beach town near the Bay Area. He said he would only want to move if he could find a solid job in the area. Lauren was hesitant at first, but she agreed that if he found the right opportunity that they would move to the beach. About three weeks later, David secured a new role in Scotts Valley, and they loaded up a Uhaul to bring their things to a small apartment just a few blocks from Sunny Cove beach. Over the next few years, Lauren commuted to Santa Clara over Highway 17 everyday until she later secured a work-from-home position at the same company. They now both work from Santa Cruz, and they live just a mile from their favorite beach. In Santa Cruz, the couple now enjoys morning and evening walks along the cliffs. Taking in the cool ocean scent and beautiful sunsets has become a nearly daily ritual for them both. When they're not traveling to go camping, skimboard, play soccer or see family, they spend many of their weekends sharing beach time with close friends with their toes in the sand and with the sun in their face.

Lauren had been quietly searching for dogs online for many months. While she had shown David a few of them, he had routinely dismissed the idea and claimed they were not ready for a dog. One day, Lauren found a post online about a new litter of toy Australian shepherds, and the smallest dog in the litter was a red tri-colored puppy that was estimated to grow up to be 15 pounds. The puppy was located in Paso Robles, about a two and a half hour drive from their home in Santa Cruz. Lauren convinced David to drive down one weekday after work, "just to take a look." David agreed. About two hours into the drive, David realized a small puppy was going to melt Lauren's heart and the trip was probably more than "just to take a look." In a McDonald's parking lot in Paso Robles, Lauren was handed a small puppy who would later be named Tuttle, and she quickly handed over a deposit. Lauren and David picked up Tuttle a few weeks later and brought him back to their home in Santa Cruz. Tuttle has grown up to be 11 pounds, a few pounds short of their estimation. However, what he lacks in size, Tuttle makes up for in personality. Tuttle enjoys long walks on the beach just as much as his owners. He is always ready to play fetch or hang with his small doggy friends. He also is a fierce protector of the family home, but he's always overjoyed when Lauren and David arrive.