Rico and I have had mutual friends for 8 plus years, we just happened to officially meet the evening of July 14, 2017 at Buffalo Chip Saloon watching some good ol' fashion bull riding and listening to some live country music. From there, it evolved into boating with friends, country dance lessons, aerial acrobatic classes, more country music and dancing, hiking, pool parties and then the official first date. And the rest is history!

We picked out the engagement band together the first week of January 2018. I had my heart set on finding an "ocean blue" center stone, that we were told didn't exist... so, we made plans to road trip down to Tucson for the annual Gemstone Show. My mom happened to be here while the show was just opening, so the three of us spent our morning walking from booth to booth looking for "my" stone. By the 12pm on January 26th we had met the owner who dug the stone from the ground as well as the gentleman who had cut the stone only 2 weeks prior. It was an extraordinary experience to share with two of the people I love most.

We had already discussed getting married and done the ring shopping and to my knowledge he just needed to have the stone set on the band and "officially" propose. For those of you that know me... when I know what I want, I go for it. After a great day running UP Mount Lemmon in Tucson (we were training for trail races) I told Rico I needed the evening to myself to do laundry and unwind.... that was my story anyways. After he went back to his place for the night I started working on some serious arts and crafts projects. We had plans to go to a friend's for Super Bowl Sunday the following day and I was planning to pop the question after we got home from the game. However, I got a call from Rico early the next morning only to find out he was having his car towed to my house as we speak. I proceeded to get dressed, nearly fall over from blowing up 2 dozen balloons and attempt to act "normal" once he arrived. He joined me at the liquor store to buy some bubbly for "a friend" (aka US) and then we came home and worked on my taxes. After he questioned me about being weird enough times, I decided the time was now. I brought him into my bedroom where I had a picture collage and asked him to marry me. The smile on his face was absolutely priceless!

Gina & Ricardo exchanged wedding vows in a PRIVATE CEREMONY on January 10, 2019.

Please see "May 17-19, 2019" tab for more information.