Jenna, born in New York City, spurred by an offer from her former employer, made the decision that changed her life and brought her to a small beach town in sunny Southern California in order to be closer to her clients. Peter, born in Moscow, lived in Southern California most of his life and thought he would have to move across the country or even across the world to find his true love. And so the universe magically brought them to each other in true miraculous fashion. Their first date was a light and fun night in downtown Laguna Beach with good food (The Lumberyard), live music (Marine Room Tavern), drinks (The Saloon) and a lot of laughter.

The Setting: a beautiful boutique hideway hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, set no more than 100 yards from the sand of Shaw’s cove. The hotel has 21 rooms and a small restaurant, exclusive only to guests of the hotel. The Time: early dinnertime on June 28, 2019. The sun was shining, the air was warm, the setting was quiet, and the moment was perfect. The Ring: After many months of hunting for the perfect stone and carefully designing every millimeter of the ring, Peter finally found what he was searching for. The trouble was…this particular jeweler was in New York City…and diamonds like this move fast. Somehow, a couple of days later, Peter’s company asked him to make a 24-hour roundtrip to NYC for a business meeting on zero notice (something that had never happened before). And on that day, the ring became theirs. The Story: Several weeks before the day that would change their lives, Peter scouted the location, booked a room at the hotel to access the restaurant, and met with the Chef. Robin and Jim flew into town on the morning of the engagement but were unaware of Peter’s plan. As far as everyone was concerned, we were planning to have a casual family dinner with Peter’s parents Irina and Sergey. Peter, Irina and Sergey arrived at the restaurant first. Jenna, Robin and Jim soon followed. Peter and Jenna walked to explore the beautiful view from the hotel’s open-air rooftop yoga studio. Jenna turned around and Peter was on his knee, holding the ring and asking the question. After an emotional embrace, they walked downstairs, shared with their families, and celebrated into the night a memory that they will treasure forever.