2/5/2022

Amidst the modern era of dating apps and Algorithms, Shanna and Gabriel met in a very old fashioned way: Setup on a blind date by friends. While out for Holiday drinks with Kevin and Nikki Hooks in 2018, a spotlight was shone on Gabriel's singleness. It will remain hotly debated if it was Nikki who offered her cute, single and jewish friend Shanna up on a platter, or if Gabriel asked Nikki if she had any single friends with a pulse, but we do know we have both Kevin and Nikki Hooks EQUALLY to thank for making our introduction happen. Shanna met Kevin (Nikki was late) at The Old Ship Saloon under the pretense of being introduced to a new guy at a bar, and instead was introduced to a guy Working at a bar. After introductions, drinks were had, Nikki finally arrived (Gabriel's shift ended), and we headed to Mr. Bing's where the Hooks' made a timely departure to leave us alone to continue our date. Deciding to drink through her nervousness, the first date gets a little fuzzy (at least for Shanna….). Gabriel found out about the vegetarian in the room, and almost had to end it there: He was currently trying to buy the oldest steakhouse in SF, and though she was very cute that was a conflict of interest. The next moment Gabriel fell out of his chair, when Shanna revealed that her happy place in the whole world that he would never have heard of, was actually his happy place that no one ever knew on Maui. That moment was the first of many connections, and we knew there was something special between us. On the first date, Shanna forgot what she did for work. One the second date, she threw red wine on Gabriel, and forgot his name. But by the third date, names were remembered, meat was eaten by Gabriel(testing of Shanna), and they had both been Hooked.

On our first date, we were floored to find that not only do we share a happy place in the whole world, but we vacationed there with our families as we grew up, and we were on the same beach at the same time over the years. From there, our crazy connections kept growing. Both with 2 siblings of opposite sex, both children of hippy parents, both had a father named J(Geo)ffrey, and a brother/sister named Daniel/Danielle that’s a little “extra”. We found out after a month that Shanna’s brother and Gabriel’s sister have been friends for years, and that we should have met at a holiday party the year before. We are now so happy to celebrate our third-year anniversary (almost to the day) with all of you on 2/5/2022. As rocky as the world has been around us the past year and a half, how truly wonderful it was to go through it with one another. To find love in this crazy world is one thing, but to find your lobster (Friends quote), partner in crime, best friend, and life partner is a gift that Gabriel and Shanna feel so lucky to have found and continue to build.

Best proposal ever! Although we are biased, and this was each of our first times… Gabriel had done an excellent job of throwing Shanna off and completely surprising her on January 1, 2021. What were we to do when we were house bound (thanks COVID) and in need of good entertainment?! Dress up of course (Shanna’s favorite pastime). It was important for us to create joyful memories out of a chaotic year, so every holiday, we would throw on the silliest costume we could find, hold up a piece of cardboard that read “2020” and put the camera on selfie timed mode! What Shanna didn’t realize is that in the multiple pictures taken per take, Gabriel had slowly been asking Shanna to marry him, flipping the 2020 sign over to ask the big question over a six week period. On the morning of January 1, 2021, after reaching the peak of our mini hike, Gabriel handed Shanna his phone showing the collection of us dressed in our silly multiple holiday photos asking “Will. You. Marry. Me. ?” He then got down on one knee and in closing one crazy chapter of a year, started a new year in the best way possible.