We met up for pizza. He ordered pepperoni (her least favorite) then we learned we share the same favorite beer and ordered a pitcher. Three and a half hours of laughter passed in what felt like minutes. He walked her to the car, opened the door, she got in, he walked away briefly before turning around, opening the door, leaning in and kissing her. Sparks flew! Best first date ever!

After a few days of texting non-stop, our second date was at the park. We were both excited and showed up with gifts. She brought him a huge bag of gummy worms (his favorite). He showed up with the most beautiful bouquet of roses and a card with three very important words... LET'S DO THIS! While she sat on the tailgate of his truck, we were talking and laughing, he noticed the sun in her eyes, took his sunglasses off and put them on her. She immediately melted and thought 'Oh shit! Here we go!'

To truly appreciate this story, you have to know that Gabe is the WORST at keeping a secret. He asked if I wanted to go to a softball tournament with his co-workers at the coast. I love our adventures so of course I wanted to go. Even if it was for softball. He planned the entire weekend. First we went to Carmel. He said he wanted to break up the trip so we weren't in the car all day. We went for a hike at Point Lobos and saw otters, seals and crabs. And Gabe's favorite animal we saw was a 'long hair don't care' yak. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the beach. We went to town to get burgers and tots! We stayed at a cute little villa in Carmel. He brought me breakfast in bed then we packed up for the next day of adventures. Today it was raining so he told me the game might be cancelled. We drove toward Cambria. He kept checking the time. He said that we had enough time to stop at Hearst Castle for a quick tour because he has always wanted to go there and we have talked about it several times. We got there and checked in, got our wrist bands for the upstairs suites tour, watched the movie, got on a bus and met our tour guide. When the tour started, I was taking pictures and Gabe was getting video with his GoPro. Gabe wandered off and got yelled at by the guide for stepping off the carpet (a cover up for his shenanigans). We finally got to the Celestial Suite. It is the highest room in the Castle and designed to look like a jewelry box. The guide stopped his speech to allow the couple in the back a minute. That was us! Gabe had a speech and got on one knee to ask if I would marry him. OF COURSE YES!!! The entire trip was a sham. There was never going to be a softball game. But I'm not even mad though. Best cover up ever. And turns out that everyone knew except me.

Wedding planning is stressful. We decided that the date was too far away. We didn't want to wait any longer. We had a trip to Denver Colorado planned already. So the morning before our flight, we went to the court house to get married. Got on a plane and spent an amazing 4 days focused on each other while being married in (mostly) secret. We went public with the news on our way back. We look forward to sharing a ceremony and celebration with you all in September!!!