We're getting married!

It was the summer of 2012 when I first met Sarah at the Dark Knight Rises premiere. We were briefly introduced by a few mutual friends and to be honest I didn’t think much of it afterwards. (I mean, she was cute, but…) You see, at the time, I had recently re-committed to Christ and girls were the last thing on my mind. Sorta. Through God’s grace, I was able to join and serve on KCM’s servant team. If it was up to Sarah, I would have never served on KCM. She saw some random guy named Johnny who wanted to be a small group leader and my application immediately went into the denied bin in her head. But…God had other plans. Through this ministry and our mutual friend group, I really got a bird’s eye view on her. I remember, I was always adamant about driving when we hung out with our friends. Why? Pro tip: It’s because you are able to control who gets dropped off last ;) Gradually, our group hangouts “somehow” became a bit more isolated. Like most relationships, my hangouts with Sarah didn’t go unnoticed. Annoyed of the uncertainty, Sarah took the wheel and called me out. “So what are we?” Yeah, I chickened…but to be honest, I was scared of her! It took me a few days to digest, but I realized Sarah’s “coldness” wasn’t something to be afraid of. To me, it was more of a reason to ask and probe about her life. I wanted to know her. That’s when I devised the perfect plan! I created a fake parking ticket that officially asked her out on a date and stuck it on her car at school. Surprisingly even after that, she checked “Yes!” And that my family and friends is the beginning of #sarahnny’s journey!

I knew it was coming. To be fair, we talked about the timeframe of our engagement beforehand. But nearing May 6th, there were too many hints. In the past, we have done joint Mother’s Day celebrations with just our moms, but it seemed a little strange bringing in our immediate families. On the morning of May 6, my mom kept bugging me about what I was going to wear that day. Strange. I knew it was coming, but I forced myself to not assume things. That evening, we were running late to our “dinner” at Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes. After we parked and got closer to the restaurant, Johnny seemed frantic. However, my mind was concerned about us being late for our “reservation”. We were five minutes late, but Johnny leisurely walked past the restaurant entrance. Strange. That’s when I knew 100% it was happening. Johnny took me to the cliffside overlooking the ocean and directed me towards a bench with a scrapbook. We sat down and he said, “I know you know what’s going on” and guided me through the scrapbook. It was a mini-history of our 4 year relationship. As the scrapbook concluded, he kneeled on one knee, opened up a box, and asked, “Will you marry me?” To which I responded, “Yes!” Even though I knew it was coming, I was so nervous and overwhelmed. Johnny hugged me as I was trying to gather my emotions when I heard my two best friends, Tiffany and Michelle, literally jump out of the bushes. That’s when the tears dropped. I felt so loved knowing how much Johnny had planned for this moment by involving important people in my life and for my friends to be a part of that. Afterwards, Johnny took me to DTLA where our family and close friends gathered to celebrate this big milestone in our lives!