Paul and I initially met during my sorority’s “Mr. AXO” week at San Diego State. Paul was one of the nominees and although he was trying to “woo” 100+ girls to get their vote for Mr. Alpha Chi... he wasn’t wooing me quite yet! It wasn’t until a bit later when we realized we had the same class, Natural Disasters, that Paul really caught my eye! It was during one class when he challenged me to a game of tic-tac-toe that did the trick and we’ve been talking ever since, which has been everything but a natural disaster!

I picked Maddie up on a Friday night to go have a picnic at sunset with wine and cheese before heading to dinner with my parents who were in town. Maddie and I both knew what was about to happen. After a glass or two of wine followed by a handful of the most awkward conversations we've ever had, I held back tears and asked Maddie if she would marry me. It was perfect. The moment was captured thanks to two of my coworkers who went undercover to take pictures. After a few more pictures and polishing off the rest of the wine (there wasn't much left at that point), we were all set to go meet up with my family for dinner who was in town for the weekend. In reality however, my family, Maddie's family, and some of her closest friends were all waiting at my house for a surprise party/celebration. On our way to "dinner", Maddie tried calling her family, best friends, or just about anyone to share the news but wasn't able to reach anyone. After a couple bad attempts to distract her and kill time, we arrived at a restaurant just down the street from my house. It was at this point in time I realized "I had nervously forgotten to feed my roommate's dog who was out of town" and mentioned we should do that before dinner. Maddie and I walked in the front door of my house to a room full of friends and family who came in from all over the place to celebrate our engagement. The rest of the night was spent sharing stories and laughs to create a night that Maddie and I will forever cherish.