Katelyn's POV Roland and I met one evening at a hilltop bar in San Diego, from the moment I saw him across the room, I couldn’t look away. There was something about him; his confidence, his smile, it instantly caught my attention. So naturally, I waved him over instead of coming to me, he smiled and shook his finger “no,” which somehow made me even more intrigued. A moment later, I walked up to him myself and asked why he didn’t come over. He began telling me something his grandmother had taught him about women and finding the right one—and just like that, we started a conversation. The very next morning, he took me out for breakfast for our first date, a unique breakfast spot and it felt like we were the only two people in the entire city.

That day was one I’ll never forget. I decided to propose to Katelyn on her birthday because I knew she didn’t have much family or many friends out here, and I wanted her to feel surrounded by love. I wanted to celebrate not only her birthday, but also the beginning of the rest of our lives together with all the people closest to us. I woke up early that morning and went to my parents’ house around 6:30 a.m. to start cleaning, decorating, and preparing everything. Katelyn thought we were simply having a birthday party for her, while in reality I was planning one of the most important moments of my life. I invited close friends and family so they could witness both her special day and the start of our future together. The funniest part was that she ended up being almost two hours late to her own birthday party and proposal, even though her best friend Angelique was supposed to help stall her. Truthfully, Angelique barely had to do anything because Katelyn was already taking forever to get ready. But the moment she arrived, it all made sense, she looked absolutely breathtaking. I remember greeting her at the door and feeling completely overwhelmed by how beautiful she looked. As I guided her inside, she stopped to greet everyone, completely unaware of what was waiting for her. I had laid out a rose petal path leading to a sign that said “Will You Marry Me?”, but she kept stopping to talk to family and friends while I nervously tried to guide her toward it. When I finally got down and proposed, I made sure one of my friends had her dad and stepmom on FaceTime so they could still be part of that moment even from far away. The rest of the night felt surreal. Katelyn was glowing the entire evening, like my own angel sent from above. I went home that night knowing I had truly found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.