Ray and Melissa met at Santa Barbara Brewing Company on a lively Sunday. Ray had flown in from New York City to celebrate his 30th birthday in Santa Barbara. He was feeling confident after a weekend of fun (and after a couple tequila shots). With a little encouragement from Lillie, China, and Vida, Ray approached the tallest and most beautiful lady in the room. There was an instant connection! Ray and Melissa ended up spending that entire night dancing together. That spark has continued to deepen into the passionate, adventurous love that Ray and Melissa share today.

After the couple met, Ray secretly pushed his flight back so he could stay a few extra days in Santa Barbara to get to know Melissa better. They went out on their first proper date at Sakana Sushi in Montecito. Ray pulled out his cell phone to take pictures of the tasty looking sushi as he often does. Melissa, instead of making fun of him as most do, pulled out her cell phone to use the light and make the pictures look even better. It was at this moment that Ray knew she was the one. Ray flew back to New York, but they continued to talk every day. They planned a second date... in Las Vegas! It was during this amazing weekend that they decided they would give a long-distance relationship a shot.

Immediately after Ray and Melissa decided to make a long-distance relationship work, they couldn't wait to plan their next trip. They impulsively bought tickets to Austin the very next weekend to spend Halloween together. During that week it was obvious that they more than "liked" each other. They started inventing ways to show how much they cared. It evolved from "I really like you" to "I luge you" to "I lube you", which were terms that Ray and Melissa made up on the spectrum between "like" and "love". Finally, while Ray was wearing a children's pink unicorn costume and Melissa was wearing a sexy shark costume on 6th Street in Austin, Ray said, "I love you." Melissa smiled her biggest smile and replied, "I love you too!"

Melissa told Ray early in their relationship that she had always wanted to go on a multi-day rafting trip. After Ray received Melissa's parents' blessing, Ray started looking for the best rafting trips he could find. The Grand Canyon is regarded as the best place to go white water rafting in the world, and is conveniently located about halfway between Ray's family and Melissa's family. After some intense planning, Ray managed to surprise Melissa on day 5 of the 7 day trip atop the Deer Creek trail. He got down on one knee overlooking Grand Canyon, and she said yes. Two days later, after the trip-of-a-lifetime ended, Ray surprised Melissa again with a family engagement party at the South Rim. It was such a magical week!