OPA! MABUHAY!

I grew up in the Philippines, while Christian was born in the US. We both eventually became nurses; Christian became a travel nurse and I immigrated in SF Bay Area. One night, in September of 2019.. as a 24 year old woman, having her "semi quarter-life crisis", was crying and praying to God.. 'Lord, sana po yung susunod na makikilala ko, siya na po yung para sa akin.. kahit gaano po ako katagal maghintay... willing po ako.. pero sana wag din po ganon katagal' / 'Lord, I pray that whoever I'd meet next would be the one that You planned for me.. I'm willing to wait however long, for as long and the next one would be The One.. but, Lord, hopefully, it wouldn't be that long.." HAHA. The very next month, came this critical care nurse who accepted an assignment on a med-surg floor for the first time.. who also came across too harsh for me (questioning policies + a lot of hand gestures). Psh, who does he think he is?! Little did I know, that this same "harsh" guy, is the sweetest, softest and most caring person I have ever met in my entire life. Did I mention that he's also cute? I also realized that his hand gestures were a Greek thing. Oops. Later on in our relationship, Christian told me that he went to a church in San Francisco, prayed to God and St. John that whoever he would meet next would God-willing be the one he would marry. The very same day, he got a call from my manager, wanting to hire him for a contract. Fast forward, here we are, creating a wedding website! Indeed, the Lord keeps His promise. We just have to keep the faith. <3

Christmas came one day early for us in 2022! It was Christmas Eve, I wanted to take the initiative to plan out and surprise Aira with a day out to celebrate Christmas together. Unbeknown to Aira, I had much bigger plans for our Christmas Eve. The many many months leading up to this day had been very busy secretly designing the perfect ring, planning our engagement day, and of course, figuring out how I would propose. By some miracle, I was able to keep her from suspecting anything about our Christmas Eve plans. All I told Aira was to dress up for a day out together and that I would handle the rest. At times, I liked to just surprise Aira on previous dates, so she was none the wiser. To start our afternoon, we went to our favorite winery in Napa where we spent our time tasting our favorite wines. After a very relaxing time and our fill of wine, it was time for a meal at Four Seasons Napa Valley. I guess, by now, you may be wondering when is the proposal going to happen? How is Christian going to propose? Well, one of our favorite places to go while living near San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, one of our favorite activities is to watch the sun set. So, what could be better than proposing at the Golden Gate Bridge during the golden hour? The whole day was planned with the intention of making it to the bridge for sunset. So, after our meal at Four Seasons, the race was on. Thankfully, we made it just in time. Getting out of the car while we walked towards our viewpoint was breezy and chilly, so Aira almost immediately wanted to get back into car. Of course, I couldn’t let this happen. Anxiously, I said, “I don’t care” and proceeded to drag her to our viewpoint. While a little chilled, we spent a moment taking in the gorgeous scene of the Golden Gate Bridge while the sky began to burst with all the colors of the sunset. At this point I pulled my phone out of my pocket to show her a very special video of us I made for this very moment. At the very end of this video I cleverly inserted a picture of the ring. At that moment I pulled that very ring out and kneeled down on one knee and proposed to her. She said, yes!!!! See you in Manila! OPA! Xx, C&A