Wedding on the Mountain

Despite both growing up in the same small town, it took divine intervention in the form of a dating site for the two of us to find each other. When Taylor saw a guy from Carpinteria messaged her, her first thought was, "There's no way I don't know this guy." That's how small Carp is. J.R.'s pictures with Jozy, his chocolate labradoodle, won Taylor over despite the very limited information on his profile. Our first date was on July 17, 2015, six years to the day before our wedding. We met on a Sunday morning at Lucky Llama, a local coffee shop. J.R. doesn't drink coffee or tea so this should have been Taylor's first clue of J.R.'s selfless and giving nature. After buying Taylor's latte, J.R. suggested walking to the beach. Along the walk, we passed Taylor's dad's construction office and we discovered our first of many commonalities; we come from construction families. As we strolled along the beach, we connected the dots of shared interests, people and places. J.R. says he know this was something special when Taylor met Jozy for the first time and Jozy immediately licked Taylor's face with forceful enthusiasm. Taylor says she knew she and J.R. had a unique connection when she beat him in a playful game of mini golf after sushi and cocktails but it was when she saw him coaching youth soccer she knew he was meant for her.

Jellybowl, a small beach for locals in Carpinteria, has always been a special place for us. When we first started dating, we spent many Friday evenings there: swimming in the ocean, enjoying a beverage in the sand, and chowing down on some sushi while watching the waves crash at sunset. It was there we fell in love and there where J.R. fell on a knee and popped the question. Thankfully, Taylor said yes! Scheming and planning to keep it all a surprise took a small army - and a couple of lucky distractions. The bride-to-be was shocked to tears - they were happy tears, I've asked. We are so happy to share these memories and many more with all of you at the wedding!