In their Sophomore year at UC Irvine, the bride and groom both attended a Spanish 2A course. On the first day of class, Sean, who is about 6 feet tall, sat directly in front of Grace, who is about 5 feet tall. At first, Grace was mildly irritated that her view of the board would now be greatly obscured by this tall man's head of wild curly hair. During the class, the professor realized her only whiteboard marker was out of ink, and asked the class if anyone had a spare. At this moment, Sean and Grace both quickly reached into their backpacks for their own whiteboard markers, and their eyes locked in a competitive stare-down. While the professor chose Sean's dry erase marker, Grace would later choose to pursue Sean. Getting to know each other over a series of homework assignments and final presentation (which involved a cupcake robbery court case), Sean and Grace grew closer and went out on their first picnic date in Aldrich Park after their Spanish 2A final. Y el resto es historia!

After nearly 10 years of being together and not-so-gentle hints from Grace, Sean finally decided to purchase the ring, hoping it would arrive in time for their New Years vacation to Kauai. Unfortunately, the ring was scheduled to be delivered to their apartment about 6 hours after their flight. Sean fretted as the UPS delivery person called each day to attempt to deliver the ring. Once they got home from the trip, Sean woke up early to get the ring from UPS, then hid it in the apartment before Grace got home. With the Kauai proposal plans thwarted, Sean knew he had to wait for the appropriate moment to get down on one knee. Each weekend, Sean brought the ring with him, hiding it in his cargo pockets, looking for the right opportunity. Nothing came close to the scenic beauty of Kauai. That is, until their trip to Alberta for their 10 year dating anniversary. With the beautiful blue lakes, thick forests, and wildlife around every corner, Sean knew this was the place. So, on June 12th at Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Sean finally saw his opportunity. The path diverged in two, one path was clearly busy with the people, and one empty. Sean insisted they take the path less travelled, and brought the phone tripod to take pictures. Pretending to take a photo with a timer, but in reality recording a video, Sean pretended to stumble while posing with Grace. This false stumble turned into a kneel, and he presented the ring to a tearful Grace, who enthusiastically said yes!