Miguel: I had been planning the proposal for about eight months. Attempting to find the perfect ring while not giving up the plan was one of the main challenges I had. While walking past jewelry stores I'd make random excuses to look at the engagement rings, in the hopes of finding Brenda's perfect ring. Everybody that knows Brenda understands how picky she can be. Eventually I was a able to find a store that designed the perfect ring. On December 30th, 2018 many pre-made arrangements had to come together for a perfect proposal. With plans of moving into our new apartment, I made arrangements with the property manager to receive the keys at an earlier date without Brenda's knowledge. This is where Brenda's best friend Crystal became my accomplice. I took off from work on that day, and continued the routine as usual to avoid any suspicions. Me and Crystal woke up extra early and spent 4 hours setting up for the proposal. I then called Brenda, whom was a sleep at the time, and told her that we had to do an apartment walk through that day. Brenda: When I received the phone call I rushed to get ready so we could meet. When I got to the apartment I was rushing since I thought Miguel had to be at work in thirty minutes; or so I thought. When we got to the door he stops me and says "I have a surprise for you, but I want you to be blindfolded." I was hesitant at first to be blindfolded due to my eyelash extensions, but after some convincing I agreed. I wasn't sure what to think, I thought maybe he was surprising me with furniture or a picture frame. He lead the way and I thought I stepped on plastic, but in reality I had stepped on rose petals. He tells me to keep the blindfold on and wait until he tells me I could take it off. Finally he gives me the ok. As I'm taking it off I look up to see "MARRY ME" balloons on the wall and him on one knee with flowers and a light up ring box, as we were inside of a heart made out of rose petals and candles.

The first trip that Brenda and I ever took alone as a couple. We completely loved the island and did not want to leave at the end of our trip. On the bus back to the airport we looked at the resort and Brenda said "we will definitely be back here again," and I said "hell yea, I agree." Ironically, after our engagement we knew that we wanted a destination wedding. Although I always pictured our wedding in the Dominican Republic, the trip to Aruba completely changed my mind. I told Brenda that we are getting married in Aruba, and approximately one week later she had already e-mailed the Aruba wedding planners. The thought of having all of our loved ones in this "One Happy Island" for our big day was what we wanted. We can't wait for our big day, and are excited to create memories with all of you!