We hope you were buckled in for this wild ride.

It happened, we were finally engaged after 5 years of laughter and love. From the beginning we knew we wanted a long engagement and I knew that 2020 would be an easy year to calculate how many years we've been married. We spent so long talking about how much time we had to plan this day and how leisurely we could do it...until we didn't. Our date changed again and again. First, 5/23/20 - I'm weird about numbers and this would be Memorial weekend, 3 whole days full of wedding fun. Then, it was 2/29/20 - leap day, weird yes, but also a big party every 4 years. Finally, 3/21/20 - obviously not our first choice, but one that was available for the venue of our dreams and the sound of "3...2...1" was cute and trendy enough for us. So here we are, out of time to dilly dally, with me frantically asking Leo if he thinks hydrangeas are too gaudy and if roses are played out (side note: they never will be). This day is a long time coming, and we promise you, we will not disappoint. I can almost close my eyes and see Leo waiting for me with all of your beautiful faces smiling and thinking, "About time!". Honestly you might be thinking that because I'm notorious for being late or because we've truly had the longest engagement EVER! Hope you've been sitting in anticipation like we've been, awaiting our special day! LOL - Someone go back in time and tell past-Carli how naive she was. Sweet angel.

I started working at the "famous" Salsa Grill in the summer of 2011, little did I know that this restaurant at some point would bring me so much happiness. My family alone has so much history here, my mom, brothers, sister, tias, and cousins have all at some point worked or currently work here. My mom and tia met Carli long before I even knew who she was. We like to think that at some point we were both sitting at the restaurant with a bowl of pozole or some chilaquiles at the same time and not realizing that our future was already writing itself. Fast forward to March of 2013, Carli had started working at Salsa Grill as a host, we were both seniors in high school and "prom was coming" (cue GOT theme song). As cute as she was with only a few weeks away, Carli didn't have a prom date, and she let it be known as she walked around basically screaming that she needed a date. (WOW...-Carli) She finally caught someones attention... another of our coworkers. I can happily say she turned him down, but with just a week away from prom it so happened that her friend's softball team was having a fundraiser at Salsa Grill, and it was time to call for reinforcements (think she planned it this way). Her friend's mom called me over to her table, and asked me two simple questions, "Do you think that girl is cute?" caught off guard I managed to respond, "Yes, I do". Her following question, "Do you want to take her to prom?" is the reason why we are able to celebrate almost 7 years later and without hesitation respond the same as before.

L: Woke up at 3am freaking out. Could barely sleep. C: I woke up to a weirdly quiet Leo tip-toeing around our room, later I got a call from my boss saying the power was out and I had the day off. L: Once I heard the phone ring, I realized there was no turning back. I also realized I had to get out before she started asking questions, so I stopped everything and rushed out the door. C: After chasing Leo downstairs, I waved goodbye and went back up to find: Envelope #1. I screamed WHAT about 15 times when I read the first clue. L: I was always one step ahead of her, she wasn’t allowed to have her phone because I wanted her to live in the moment, also she would have called me and I would have told her everything. C: He sent me to all of our best places - Salsa Grill, Nordstrom, In-n-Out, and home to bottles of champagne. L: I began to head to Disneyland where I waited for Carli for about 2.5 hours. I decided to treat myself to a churro, (first meal of the day) and as I walked up to pay for it the cashier pointed out that I had something on my shoulder. It was bird shit. C: I drank, I did my makeup, I drank, my girls forced me to eat mac and cheese and we were off to meet my prince charming. L: As I sat there wiping off the “good luck”, people started coming up to me, wishing us years of happiness. I finally got the “on our way" text and got ready for the final envelope. C: Walking through the turnstile in my dress and heels feeling a little out of place, but that wouldn't matter in about 2 minutes. L: There I was with a group of people around me, and as soon as I spotted her, they all yelled, “she's here, she's here!” (we didn’t even know these people). She walked up and I got down on one knee. US: We hugged, we cried, people cheered (yes, people we did NOT know)...but it was happening. The best was yet to come.