Marcela and Liz met in Los Angeles, CA in 2011 as they were both completing separate graduate degrees at rival campuses (UCLA and USC). Their first date was breakfast at Homegirl Cafe in downtown LA because Marcela had to quickly get back to coding for her dissertation. Other dates included writing at the UCLA dungeon, lunch at parks, dinners near USC, and sunsets at the beach. They spent hours on the phone, shared their love for music, good food, family, and supported each other’s continued education and careers. Fourteen years later, Marcela and Liz remain committed and in love even though they did things out of "traditional" order. They bought a house in 2021 and had a beautiful baby girl in 2024. Marcela is a professor at UC Davis and Liz is a licensed mental health clinician at UC Davis Health. We look forward to celebrating our love with you!

Marcela and Liz got engaged twice in January 2024…one week apart. Unknowingly, they were each planning on “popping the question” around the same time. They secretly planned and took extra trips to the “grocery store”, or to “work with a friend”, etc. Guess who proposed first? Marcela surprised Liz with a slideshow before going out to breakfast. Liz waited on the couch as Marcela worked out technical issues (obviously unable to ask Liz for help like usual). With Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” as background music, Liz teared up with the images reminding her of the many adventures they shared over the last decade+. Liz really thought this was just a beautiful slideshow. The slideshow had glaringly prolonged ending credits, which confused Liz. With tears in her eyes, Liz turned to Marcela who unexpectedly had an engagement ring and popped the question. A week later while Marcela was still asleep, Liz snuck out of their bedroom and set up a romantic proposal in the loft with rose petals and candles leading from the bedroom door. A dozen helium-filled balloons, each holding a picture of them, floated in the loft. Liz also included Lexi, Marcela’s dog who burst into the bedroom every morning, as part of her plan. When Lexi did not immediately scratch or open the door like usual, Marcela came out in search of her dog. Marcela was surprised (maybe confused) to see the loft, until she saw Lexi’s bandana that was supposed to say “Will you marry mom?” but had missing letters that got stuck on her dog beard. Liz popped out a ring and asked Marcela to marry her too.