Celebrate with us!

Ours is a modern-day love story. The kind where two people are brought together via the internet goddesses that be in the form of online dating (thanks, Hinge). After a couple weeks of messaging, Christina was convinced that Raquel was her soulmate due to their mutual affection for nail art, sushi, and brunch (later discovered to be a lie). They met for their first date on Labor Day weekend of 2018 for brunch at Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco. They bonded over giant mimosas and beignets, and Raquel ordered a salad (why would someone order a salad at brunch, you ask? Well, because Raquel doesn't REALLY like brunch food - a point of contention to this day). Raquel made plans to meet up with her friends that afternoon as an escape plan in case things didn't go well, and Christina, the gentlewoman she is, gave her a ride. As they went to say goodbye, Christina dodged the kiss Raquel tried to plant on her because who wants a first kiss in a car (don't worry, the first kiss happened in a much cuter way on their second date), and the rest is history.

On March 25, 2022, Christina proposed to Raquel. After months of planning and stressing, Christina roped Raquel's friends into take her out for drinks to distract her while Christina carted a giant suitcase, duffel, and table down to their favorite beach in San Francisco - China Beach. She set up a cute picnic on the beach tucked against a rocky cliff, complete with string lights, gold "Marry Me" letters, a picnic table that she made herself, and a view of the Golden Gate bridge. However, the process to get set up took longer than expected, so Raquel's friends convinced her to get a second round of long island iced teas. By the time Christina was ready and Raquel's friends lured her down to the beach, the sun had just set. At first Raquel just saw the twinkly lights and "Marry Me" and thought "what a cute idea, I should do that for Christina" before realizing it WAS Christina. Surprised, giddy, and a little tipsy, Raquel waltzed over to Christina while Christina got on one knee. Christina said some sweet things that neither of them can honestly remember, and Raquel said yes! The next day, Christina took Raquel and her friends on a tour of their first dates together in the city, complete with a visit to Brenda's French Soul Food. On April 9, 2022, Raquel proposed to Christina. They were on a trip to NYC with Christina's friends and had plans to go to the Museum of Natural History that morning. Afterward, the plan was to wander around Central Park and visit Christina's favorite statue there - the Alice in Wonderland statue. Raquel's plan was to propose here, but little did she know, children like to climb all over Alice and her friends, and they couldn't get a clear picture without several toddlers running around in the background. Luckily, the cherry trees were in full bloom, so Raquel took Christina to a nearby blossoming cherry tree to "take a picture" and got down on one knee instead. Christina said yes! Raquel being the creative and romantic person she is had planned an Alice in Wonderland-themed scavenger hunt throughout Central park that included afternoon tea from Alice's Tea Cup (which we were a good 4 hours late picking up thanks to a big underestimation of how long the museum would take), a romantic boat ride on The Lake, and a visit to the rose garden (which was unknowingly under construction). What a perfectly imperfect way to begin this next life adventure together.