For those of who unable to attend, you can watch the livestream here: www.tinyurl.com/ashleycalebwedding

We met back in undergrad back at APU, back in the fall of 2011. Caleb noticed Ashley across the room during the first (at least, Ashley's very first) symphony rehearsal - and for him, it was like a "lightning bolt". Thus was born his major crush. They actually met during the first symphony concert. Ashley has no recollection of this, but apparently, Caleb had opened the door for her since she had her baby (aka cello) and introduced himself. Ashley never knew about his crush and he never made it known to her. However, the timing wasn't right and they remained acquaintances through their time at APU. *cue act ii*

After APU, I stayed in LA for grad school and attended UCLA while Ashley moved to Boston and attended Boston Conservatory for three years. In 2017, my first year out of school, I remembered how I felt about Ashley and occasionally wondered if she would ever move back to LA. My boss (also mentor/coworker/friend), Billy Lefler, would tease me often and ask, "Why aren't you dating anybody?" and one day I told him, "There's this girl in Boston who I had a huge crush on in college." He responded saying, "Just ask her out." I brushed it off thinking, "There's no way...also she's in Boston," but then I started seeing her posting about moving back to LA. I started thinking that I might have a chance, so when she finally moved back, I worked up the courage to message her on FB. We caught up for a little bit, and at the end of our conversation, we talked about meeting up sometime. A few days later, I asked Ashley if she wanted to grab brunch somewhere (not as a date, just to catch up in person). We met at Copa Vida in Pasadena and ended up spending 3 hours there, getting to know each other and reminiscing about our time at APU. I really enjoyed her personality and sense of humor and decided I wanted to ask her out on a date sometime soon. I went to work one day and told Billy about meeting with Ashley and, again, he encouraged me to ask her out on a date. In fact, he gave me an ultimatum, saying, "You're not leaving work today until you ask her out." Both my boss and the client we were working with gave me a bunch of ideas on how to properly ask her out and helped me work up the confidence to finally send a message. After a very, very stressful 24 hours (or longer, I wasn't counting or anything) - Ashley messaged back and agreed to go on a date with me.

After graduating from APU in 2015, I moved to Boston for grad school at BoCo and ended up staying there for 3 years, completing a master's and a professional studies certificate. Through my last year in Boston, I made the decision to move back to CA and 'back' to SoCal. I moved to SoCal in August 2018 and in September, Caleb reached out via FB messenger. We chatted a bit one night about school and music, which ended with him offering to keep an eye out for cello gigs, which I appreciated; and I was actually the one who mentioned grabbing coffee sometime (I figure meeting in person than online since I'm back in town!). We got brunch together a few days later and spent about three hours together, chatting about music, church, school - and I realized Caleb is a solid guy. (This wasn't a date!...though I was a little suspicious, since usually when you say, "Let's hang!", it gets forgotten for a long time, especially if it's just an acquaintance...) A week or so later, I was literally at my first gig back (whoo!) and just started the first week of my new teaching job. While I was at the gig, I got a message from Caleb, saying, "Hey Ashley, thanks for getting brunch/catching up with me..." and told me he'd love to take me out to dinner if I was interested, and even sent me his number to get back to him (Just wow - who does that anymore??). But because of my new job, I thought, "I can't deal with this right now...there's too much going on!" - I just wanted to get through my first two days of teaching, and then I could think about it. I texted Caleb at the end of next day to let him know I was interested in getting dinner with him. We decided to go to dinner the week after, and he suggested a Thai place near me. That week, he asked if we could meet there, so...I had to clarify that it was, in fact, a date, and he ended up picking me up after all (good job, Caleb!).

We went on our first date a week after Ashley agreed to go to dinner, and Caleb was very gentleman-ly (waiting outside his car, opening doors, etc.), and Ashley was checking things off her list throughout the date. Even on that first date, we both noticed that we shared the same core values, which was huge for both of us. In the weeks that followed, we started chatting a lot more, seeing each other more, and meeting each other's friends. Our 3rd date was a Josh Groban concert a month after our first date, and it was then that Caleb told Ashley all his backstory from APU (wowowow! She just never knew...). We met each other's parents early on and, eventually, they met in late 2019 and got along well (which is always a good sign!). We've grown closer through the time we've spent and have enjoyed many activities together. From seeing live performances (pre-COVID, obviously), to hiking, trying new tasty LA food joints, watching each other perform, and even working and performing together - it became apparent that we could spend the rest of our lives together.

Caleb first got the idea for the proposal when our APU symphony conductor referred us to our photographer, Lauren Kovacik. (Guess you could say he helped in *orchestrating* our proposal. Too much?) Ashley reached out to Lauren and we decided on a date and location. Caleb then emailed her separately and told her about his idea of wanting to make the shoot a surprise proposal. Ashley never had any idea that they were ever in communication (super impressive). The day of the proposal (finally, right?? Clearly, Ash is the one telling the story #iykyk with all the details): The week of the photoshoot, Ashley kept wondering if Caleb would propose (she's dropped huge hints before as to where she'd like to be proposed to). She asked Caleb a couple times about what to wear and even did her nails *just in case*. Caleb and Lauren planned on the keyword "bear hug" as his signal. So we started the shoot, and Lauren had really fun poses for us. At one point, she told Caleb to stand a little behind Ashley and to come up and give her a big "bear hug" (ooooh). For some reason, she anticipated and turned a bit fore Caleb come up, so we decided to do it again (which was already planned - to do it twice). Ash noticed that Caleb was taking a long time. He called her name, and when she turned around, he was on his knee with the ring! She walked up to him, waiting to see what he'd say (did he have a long speech prepared?), but he was at a loss for words. Caleb said, "Ashley, I love you... Will you marry me?" and she said yes! What Ash really had no idea about was the small engagement party Caleb had planned at his place, with Ashley's parents in town as well! She had no idea if/who would be there and Caleb said "no" when she asked if anyone else was going to be there, BUT...just as she walked in, her parents were right there, and that's when the flood of tears came. And now, <10yrs since meeting and after 2+yrs of dating, we are tying the knot!