Picture it: OkCupid.com, January 2018 - a brand new year, brimming with the possibility of romance. Maria stumbles across the account of the most beautiful woman she has ever seen AND this woman loves dogs! Oozing smoothness and charm, Maria sends this goddess a flirty message...then does not hear back from her for a whole MONTH!!! But once they went on their first date (after Maria was an hour late), they were pretty sure they had something special. Fast-forward over 6 years later, and they have shared in countless adventures, learned to love each other deeply through good times and difficult times (and Maria's latenesses), and created a blended family that includes a yorkie poo, a pit bull, and a street cat. Now it's time to celebrate the love they found in an unlikely place.

Months of disrupted engagement plans had gone by, and Laura wondered if it would ever be the "right time" to propose to Maria. On a Sunday morning in mid-August, the sun rose over the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland as Maria slept peacefully at the family "bay house". Laura awoke her with a rouse, stating that she had lost her keys. In her best sweatpant shorts, tie dyed shirt, and disheveled hair, Maria sprung out of bed to assist her "panicked" sweetheart. Laura then led Maria by the hand, out to the grassy patch overlooking the glistening bay. Standing in a pre-arranged heart of rose petals, Laura professed her love to Maria, then knelt down on one knee and asked Maria to marry her. "Of course, yes!" responded Maria. And so began the rest of their lives together. Fun fact: Laura and Maria then drove to see Maria's favorite band in concert in New Jersey that night. As the venue worker was scanning the concert tickets, Maria excitedly shared, "We just got engaged!" To which the worker replied, "Really? Both of you on the same day?" Haha