Our Story
First Contact
It started with an email...
Grant and Monica first crossed paths attending California College of the Arts in the Illustration department, where Grant was the teacher’s assistant for a Monica's class. He remembers her being talented but sassy, and ditching him at a BART station when they missed the school shuttle. She remembers him being slightly helpful but snarky as her TA, and has no recollection of leaving him behind aboard the train. There was also the time Monica asked Grant to model for a portrait assignment and painted him with a mustache that he had yet to grow. (The resemblance now is uncanny). It wasn’t until eight years after graduating CCA in late 2020 when Grant thought about moving to SF and emailed Monica, who he knew was now a successful SF based illustrator. She replied informing him she had actually moved down to Santa Barbara but they started chatting and found a natural rapport immediately. They caught up with decades of stories from their professional and personal lives. Monica later admitted that at the time she thought to herself, “wouldn’t it be funny if this ended up being the guy I married?” While Grant thought “what if this turned into something more?” They began helping each other with work. Monica would assist Grant in tackling a difficult celebrity likeness for IMDb while Monica would ask Grant to think of illustration concepts for a NYT article. Soon they were texting nonstop, one-upping each other’s jokes and marveling at their similar sense of humor.
Face to Face
Two road trips and a year of waiting...
When Monica visited Grant for the first time in April 2021, they ended up hanging out for ten hours straight, laughing constantly and having the same ease of conversation they’d noticed from the start. A few months later, Grant spontaneously accepted Monica’s offer to visit her in Santa Barbara. (At the time, spontaneity was not a character trait Grant possessed, but Monica helped him transform into a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, even dropping a hang-loose shaka on occasion). They went on hikes, out to dinner, and took an evening stroll on the beach. Then Monica’s parents decided to visit (it seems spontaneity runs in the family). Grant had the rare opportunity of meeting a Girlfriend’s parents before beginning to date! After he left Monica’s mom asked “Are you interested in Grant as a boyfriend.” Monica replied “No way!” Soon Monica moved to LA and the two saw each other often, still only friends, but the tension was growing. After a year of “will they won’t they” electricity surging between them, one fateful evening in November 2021, everything changed. They were enjoying a cup of tea on Monica’s roof, their conversation flowing as it always had until—finally—a silence. Grant found himself speechless for the first time in his over-talkative life… That’s when they shared their very first kiss.
The Proposal Plan
All the help he could get...
After countless nights filled with uncontrollable laughter and so much love Grant realized he never wanted it to end. He had found someone truly special that he wanted to spend the rest of his days with. Someone who kept him on his toes, was always down for silly shenanigans, had a wide breadth of random trivia knowledge, was an excellent dog mom to Maisie, and could dish out equal parts sweetness and sassiness. Grant began planning his proposal in cahoots with Monica’s parents. He decided to use her Great Grandmother’s engagement ring to propose with. He remembered Monica's two requests for the proposal: 1. Don't do it with a crowd of people around. 2. Do have someone capture the moment with photos from afar. First Grant recruited his friend Isaac to use a 300mm zoom lens to take pictures of the proposal undetected. Then he smuggled the lens and a 20lb bag of river rocks underneath Monica's truck (this is a crucial part of the proposal plan you’ll learn about later). From there they headed up to Santa Barbara for the holidays with an unsuspecting Monica in tow...
The Plan in Action
An unaccounted variable...
They drove down to Santa Barbara on December 23rd and Grant braced himself the whole ride, worrying about the $1300 lens rolling around next to a heavy bag of rocks. Maybe this wasn’t the brightest plan after all? Christmas Eve morning, Grant slipped out to get a coffee but really he was meeting Isaac to scout the beach location. Grant brought coffee back home for Monica and him to throw her off while also sneaking a bottle of Champagne and Sparkling Marinelli’s into the fridge for celebrations later. Then as planned, Grant left to do his “last-minute Christmas shopping.” In reality he met up with Isaac. They walked down to the beach, Isaac with his paparazzi style camera rig and Grant lugging the 20lb bag of rocks. They found their spot and fired off practice pics while Grant snapped shots of Isaac darting between hiding spots to make sure he wasn’t visible. Grant used the rocks to mark where he would be doing the proposal: creating a heart in the sand. After completing the detailed construction, he wiped away his sweat, drove back to the house, and burst through the door, attempting to bury his nerves. He asked Monica “want to go to the beach for a walk with Maisie?” She replied flatly “No, I have an illustration deadline.” Grant could feel his heart drop, but maintained his composure. He pleaded. “Let’s do it for Maisie, she was stuck in the car all day yesterday?” Seeing how important the walk seemed to Grant, Monica thankfully agreed to go.
She Said Yes
The element of surprise pays off...
Maisie prowled the beach as usual while Monica didn’t seem to have the faintest idea and Grant continued to sweat profusely. Halfway towards the spot, he slid his glasses off and put them in his shirt pocket, they’re polarized and faux-sunglasses wouldn’t look good in proposal pics. Monica didn’t notice his glasses were off until several minutes later but by that point they were almost to the spot and her focus shifted. She shouted excitedly “look, someone made a heart!” Not realizing the someone who made it was walking right beside her. She stepped inside the center of the heart and Grant grabbed hold of her hand. The entire world disappeared in that moment, he forgot everything he was going to say and got down on one knee. Monica was shocked. She didn’t know what he was doing. Before she knew it he had pulled the ring out and asked her to marry him, clumsily sliding it onto her finger. They embraced and kissed each other, staring into each other’s eyes as Maisie bounced around at their feet… Back at the house Monica and Grant started their celebration with a glass of Champagne and sparkling Martinelli’s. They can’t wait to continue celebrating with all of you!