As you all know, the pandemic did not allow us to safely hold the wedding we had originally planned for in Murphy's last September, so we had to make a difficult decision. It was between: not getting married at all until we could have the one we planned for and dreamed of, or get married at the time we wanted but have a much smaller backyard wedding with a fifth of our guest list. Andrew and I carefully weighed the options and ultimately decided that it was most important to the both of us that we got married on September 5, 2020. What we ended up putting together was magical. Although many of our family and friends were unable to attend, we had just about the best wedding anybody could have during a global pandemic. We are so fulfilled and overwhelmed with love after having that tiny backyard wedding, but it's incredibly important to us to celebrate with the rest of you! There will be some changes, however - we won't be doing the full, big wedding in Murphy's. We feel that the most important thing to focus on at this time is a safe and intimate celebration close to home with the rest of our family and friends. With that, Andrew's parents, Therese and Patrick, will host a wedding reception at their beautiful home in Davis, California. We're so thrilled to finally be able to celebrate with you all!!

It was the weekend of our 5 year anniversary. School had just started again for the both of us and we had plans for a fun weekend with family in Capitola, as we do every year for Labor Day Weekend. Andrew and I drove down late Friday evening. He was calm as a cucumber. The next morning Andrew planned a scheduled walk on the beach with our dog, Avery, at 9am which was very unusual. Unfortunately, the tide was too high for us to safely walk so Andrew had to think on his feet. He told me he was going to the bathroom but actually texted my dad to figure out a plan b. He came back and decided that we take Avery through town to the beach near the pier. Once we got up to the pier entrance Andrew was very eager to check out a Pokestop on the pier. I was very eager to get Avery back to the condo because she was not behaving. He took the leash from me and led us to some benches on the pier. He kept looking around and started talking about random things in the water and that was when my suspicions grew. All of the sudden he grabbed my hand, got down on one knee and I was in awe! I honestly didn't hear a single thing he said once he was down on one knee. He asked and I said, "OF COURSE" and boom, we were engaged! We were totally surprised when we walked back to the condo to find our families and some very close friends there to celebrate with us. It was a day we'll never forget.

Pilar was a senior in high-school, Andrew was a Freshman at Sacramento State. Pilar went to visit Sac State one weekend to take English and math placement tests to determine some classes she'd be taking in the Fall. After the tests Pilar met a friend who was also a Freshman and stayed with her in her dorm for the night. Right after taking the tests, they went to the Dining Commons to eat lunch. While they were walking over, Pilar's friend mentioned that her friend Andrew was going to meet them for lunch. Andrew always loves this part of the story because it was his first impression of Pilar. She was so shy, she maybe said 10 words. Needless to say Pilar was smitten the moment she saw Andrew!