We met at the theatre! Well, the movie theatre, where we both worked. In May of 2014 I began my first job at the Edwards Cinema in Camarillo and met Mariano in front of the trash can behind the concessions (although he will always argue it was in front of the oven). I truly felt something the moment I met him; we built this amazing friendship over the next year and a half that was completely unbreakable. In October of 2015, he asked me to be his girlfriend! He took me around to different spots that were important to our friendship/relationship, such as where we first met, first kissed, realized he was falling in love, (if you're a fan of The Office, this may sound familiar...) and then he asked me to be his girlfriend on the rock he realized he was falling in love with me on at the Point Mugu State Park. The rest was history!

From the beginning, Mariano started collecting small things/memories of our time spent together and was putting them in a box (the box was from an old Xbox, classy). Things like receipts from dinners, tickets from the movies, concerts, zoo's, etc., the first hair tie I asked him to hold on to for me, my subway order, and so, SO much more. He was very adamant that this box was not to be opened until our 5 year anniversary, so for 5 years it tortured me (especially after we moved in together and it was sitting in our closet). On our 5 year anniversary trip to San Francisco, we had a picnic in the woods! There was the box, wrapped up, and I *finally* got to open it. I was probably going through that box for like 20 minutes. There was so much in there, it brought back so many memories, there were even some things in there that we completely forgot about! At the bottom of the box, there was a smaller wrapped box. He asked me to not look at it while I unwrapped it, stand up, and empty the box into his hand. A smaller ring box slipped into his hand and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I cried. It was amazing. He made a joke about it being an "appreciation ring" (if you're a fan of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, you get it). It was the best moment, absolutely perfect. I still watch the video like 50 times a day.