Stephen-Michael and I met freshman year in speech class at Pepperdine University. Later I found out he had a crush on me, but I didn’t have a clue. We were friendly, but didn't really hang out together outside of class until the summer after our sophomore year. Fresh off a year studying abroad (Stephen-Michael in Buenos Aires and me in Florence), we were among the few students who stayed in Malibu over the summer. After hanging out a couple of times, Stephen-Michael and I quickly became best friends and started doing anything and everything together... from going to music festivals, seeing indie movies at the local theater, to lots and lots of eating. Later that fall, Stephen-Michael officially asked me out and as they say, the rest is history!

For my 30th birthday, Stephen-Michael and I decided to take a road trip from California to Minnesota where we would celebrate with my family - stopping along the way to visit loved ones. Little did I know, he was planning to propose the night before my birthday. His parents even flew in from Ghana as part of the surprise!