We’re getting married!

We had been friends through work for quite a while before anything romantic began. After some life-changing events in both of our lives, we started spending time together. The more we hung out, the more we realized our friendship was turning into something deeper. We spent hours talking about what we wanted in life, the lessons we had learned from past relationships, and the kind of future we hoped to build. Those conversations opened our eyes in so many ways and changed everything for the better. Not long after, Beau told me he wanted to take me to his “happy place”, the place where he feels the most at peace. We planned a day trip to Teanaway and set out early on the morning of November 4, 2023, in my Jeep. The weather was cold and rainy, and the drive along I-90 was a little sketchy at times (with a few moments of hydroplaning!), but none of that mattered. We were together and having the best time. We arrived around 1:00 p.m., and even though the rain was pouring, the place was peaceful and beautiful. We grabbed an umbrella and walked through the woods while Beau led me to a special spot along the river that he visits every time he’s there. We carefully climbed down to the riverbank, and he held my hand as we walked out to a sandbar in the middle of the river. There, surrounded by the sound of the rain and the river, he turned to me and shared some very sweet words that I’ll keep just between us. Then he asked me to be his girlfriend. Of course, I said yes. We stayed there for a while, taking in the moment, the view, and the start of something new together. To celebrate, we drove into Ellensburg and had lunch at the Roadhouse Grill. Afterward, we headed back home with smiles from ear to ear. We blasted music, sang and danced along the way, and soaked in the excitement of the life we were just beginning together.

We had already talked about getting married in the summer of 2026. We both knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, so waiting years to make it official didn’t really make sense to us. Beau let it slip that he had asked my dad for his blessing to marry me. With that little slip up came another hint, he said the proposal would happen sometime before the end of 2025, but when would still be a surprise. Around that time, we had a trip planned: a cruise to Mexico to celebrate my best friend Anika’s 30th birthday. Before we left, she jokingly asked me if it would be selfish to request that Beau not propose during the trip since it was meant to celebrate her birthday. I assured her that it wasn’t selfish at all and that I completely understood. I even told Beau he was absolutely not allowed to propose on the trip and explained why. Fast forward to Halloween night when we left for our flight. The trip started off smoothly and we made it to LA, where we took a cab to our hotel for the night: The Queen Mary. When we arrived, there was a huge Halloween event happening outside called Dark Harbor. After checking into our room, we wandered around the ship to explore. We had heard all about its haunted history, but sadly we didn’t have any spooky encounters and a lot of the ship was closed off, so we couldn’t explore as much as we hoped. The next morning we boarded our cruise ship, docked right next to The Queen Mary. Our rooms weren’t ready yet, so we spent some time exploring the ship and grabbing lunch. Once our room was ready, we dropped off our bags and continued exploring. The evening was relaxed, and the next day was spent at sea enjoying the ship. Then came our first excursion in Cabo San Lucas. After anchoring, we took a water taxi from the ship to the marina. We had some time before our luxury sailboat excursion, so we wandered through the little shops looking for souvenirs. When it was time, we headed over to check in. While we were waiting in line, Anika mentioned she was having a “girl problem” and needed to talk to one of the excursion staff. I didn’t think anything of it. Soon we boarded the sailboat and were handed glasses of orange juice as a welcome drink. We set sail toward the famous arches so we could take photos in front of them. One couple went up for pictures, then Anika and Tyler had theirs taken. After that, Anika said she wanted to take a best friend photo with me posing like the famous Titanic scene. I laughed but agreed and walked to the front of the sailboat. She had me stand in front with my arms stretched out while she stood behind me for the picture. Once the photo was done, she stepped away. I turned around… and there was Beau, down on one knee. I was completely shocked and blurted out, “Wait, what the f***?” before instantly bursting into tears. Beau had the ring in one hand and was reaching out for me with the other. I glanced over at Anika and saw her sitting there with the biggest smile on her face, that’s when I realized she had been in on it the whole time. Just then, a wave hit the boat and I nearly lost my balance before grabbing Beau’s hand. Once I steadied myself, he told me how much he loved me and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and then he asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes. He slipped the ring on my finger and as we hugged, we almost toppled over together while everyone around us cheered and clapped, even people on nearby boats joined in the celebration. Eventually we sat down together, and for a moment everything else around us seemed to disappear. We just soaked in the moment smiling, hugging, and kissing. After a little while, the boat captain came over with glasses of champagne so we could celebrate. Not long after that, we made our way to a quiet cove where we could swim, have lunch, and take in our surroundings. It was the most unexpected, unforgettable moment and the perfect start to the next chapter of our lives together.