It all started with our mutual friend’s birthday party. Joey (Maid of Honor) had a collection of her friends, many of which had never met one another before, gathered together to celebrate. As I stood next to the kitchen in her apartment I heard a voice come from the back room just before this stunning woman walked out with a pair of shoes in each hand - one looking painful and the other more forgiving. She smiled and held up each pair, in turn, said “Hi, I’m Lucie and I’m going to be comfortable tonight, or hi I’m Lucie and I’m going to die tonight,” to which a few of the girls shouted “DIE” sealing her fate. We all hung around at the apartment for a while longer before heading to downtown San Jose for a change of scenery. The entire night I just wanted an excuse to talk with Lucie and get to know her. Once she decided on her drink of choice (a tequila sunrise), we talked about family, friends, college, and life in general. We continued to visit until the last call at the bar at which point Joey made it clear she wasn’t ready for everyone to call it a night. Living just around the corner, I offered for the group to come back to my place where I could cook late night snacks and we could all continue the party. After arriving at my place, I handed out pajamas and we all watched movies while I cooked chicken wings and pizza. I proceeded to get a little too caught up in hosting and feeding everyone that I almost missed my opportunity to ask Lucie for her number. Realizing the fleeting moment at hand I leaped into action and diverted disaster by getting her number and asking if I could see her again. The rest is just another chapter in our book that has since taken wonderful form and lead to our wedding.

Let’s start with the fact that the ring was in my sock drawer for months, while I worked out every detail of the day I was going to propose. Lucie had been dropping hints, not aware of the presence of the ring already hidden away. For the proposal, I chartered a wine trolley in Livermore where Lucie and I had gathered a mix of family and friends for a get-together we had been talking about for some time. My thought was that not only was this a wonderful and overdue gathering, but also a chance for me to orchestrate a surprise that Lucie wouldn’t forget. For those of you that don’t know Lucie well, she’s a big Disney and Pixar fan. Over the course of our time dating, we saw one Pixar short film called, “Paperman”, which resonated with us and our relationship. With this inspiration, I started to fold paper airplanes (which were an integral part of the film) for the proposal. Powering through bloody fingers and calling in what favors I could, we got together an impressive number of planes (750 to be exact) and the day before proposing I worked with my mother and father despite a torrential downpour to stage the scene. Our wine tasting morning began and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. My plan was set, and Lucie had no idea... (I HAD A FEELING! - Lucie). Two wineries and a light lunch later, we finally arrived at the venue where my surprise was to take place. The group began the tasting at which point I leaned over to Lucie and said I wanted to sneak out for a quick walk. I then lead her through an ivy arch and into the garden and gazebo filled with the paper airplanes. Once we arrived at the gazebo, I dropped to a knee... praying that it was one of those moments in life where you sit at a crossroads and somehow by the grace of God or just dumb luck, you manage to push your life down a path filled with more love and joy than you can imagine. At the center of this world for me was Lucie, and for some crazy reason, she said, "yes"…………………… and now our future awaits.