AJ and Stephanie met at Tortolita Middle School in 2006. They were both on the blue team and in GEM, which meant they had multiple classes together. AJ was shy and a little more quiet than Stephanie at the time, but that didn't stop her from developing a major crush on him. Their friendship developed over time thanks to group projects and small inside jokes (u of a pen, blue hair, etc) and by the end of the year, Stephanie couldn't stand it anymore and had to tell him that she liked him. On the last day of school, she signed his year book and then flipped to the back and left a secret note that said "I think you're really cute, you should text me this summer". Well, weeks passed by with no word from AJ and right when she was about to give up hope, AJ called her one night and they spent hours on the phone. He had been at camp, not ignoring her and by the time eighth grade rolled around, they decided to make it 'official'. As young love does, they went through their cycles of ups and downs (breaking up in high school, becoming best friends again, getting back together freshman year of college, breaking up a couple months later and loathing each other for the next three years). Fast forward to the end of Senior year at U of A and the two reconnected at a friend's party. They talked through what they had missed in each other's lives over the last few years, how much had changed. Eventually, they decided to give it one more go and that's where this new chapter began. Ask either of them, though, and they would say their fate was sealed that first day of 7th grade.

The Lead-Up: This whole thing is incredibly difficult to accomplish when the partner receiving the proposal hates surprises, and the partner proposing hates making elaborate plans. AJ and Stephanie spent the day walking around their favorite spots downtown with the Marsh family. Once they arrived at their favorite date spot, Reilly, her family asked AJ what the plan was from there. His reply was, "I know I need to get to our sunset spot by sunset." Luckily, Uncle Dustin said, "Okay, that's about 20 minutes from now. HAVE YOU REALLY NOT FIGURED THIS OUT YET???" He then proceeded to call an audible and sent everyone off in different directions with a ready-made excuse so that the happy couple could split off and do their own thing. He really came in clutch. The Spot: This was an easy choice. In Tucson, AJ and Stephanie used to escape to the place they called "Spot." It was and is their spot to visit after a long day, where they could sit in silence and enjoy a brief respite from their daily thoughts and struggles to simply enjoy the sunset together. Naturally, this was the place where the big question would be popped. And it was, with a big blanket set out, nobody around, with nothing but a bottle of wine and a moment to enjoy the silent sunset. The Proposal: When the moment was right, AJ invoked the power of his 8th grade self (more accurately, he recycled an old line). You see, back in August of 2007, when he had an enormous crush on Stephanie and had to summon the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend, he said to her, "I think we've waited long enough... Do you want to be my girlfriend?" You get the idea. It was incredibly cheesy, but the same line was used and the rest is history. The Surprise: Stephanie saw the whole thing coming from a mile away, but what she didn't see coming was the afterparty in waiting. Little did she know, after the proposal, their closest family members and friends were waiting to celebrate. It was the best decision AJ's ever made.