Mike and Lindsey have been in each other’s lives since childhood having attended the same school, church, and swim club, though they weren’t always aware of each other’s existence. They sat two seats over from each other in band class for years, and even were baby sat at homes right next door to each other (mike at his aunt Kathy, and lindsey at her grandma’s) completely unaware of each others existence. It wasn’t until high school that mutual friends brought them together, and a friendship began to grow. Michael and Lindsey both went to college to study film, but at different universities and would bond (or debate) films over school breaks where they’d hang out with mutual friends again. It wasn’t until they both graduated college, and Mike came to visit Lindsey where she was working at Walt Disney World, that things began to change. It was on the shores of the Bay Lake while watching the electrical water pageant after fireworks that a spark happened and they realized that maybe all these years had been bringing them together. After Lindsey returned home to New Jersey they were inseparable, though still as friends. They’d watch classic movies every week and go on hikes on weekends. Eventually Mike told Lindsey she was cute and Lindsey came around. The end.

It was hard to get LIndsey surprised about when I was going to propose since she knew the ring was bought. So Michael planned a weekend trip in October to an apple farm town in the mountains near Los Angeles to propose, and then spend the night in the town of Riverside at the famous Mission Inn Hotel with Lindsey knowing none of the details of the trip. Typically in October in Los Angeles it’s sunny, but of course for the day out, there were thunderstorms and heavy rains driving to the mountains, which didn’t seem to bode well. When they got near the mountain, the drive up into the apple farm town usually has beautiful views, but because of the rain and colder weather in the mountains, it was foggy the whole way up with nothing to look at. Luckily the weather held up and the fog went away as the day went on. There was great apple cider and donuts at the farms, and Michael proposed on the nature walk path with an area that contained sequoia trees.