I met Cassie at our local parish. We were in the same youth group and were confirmed the same year. We never ran in the same group of friends during the instructional years, honestly, she thought she was “too cool” for me. Over the years we became part of the leadership team and became good friends. We would frequently go out with another friend (one of the bridesmaids) and became close. It didn’t take long for us to grow feelings for one another. Yet, we were one of the last people to realize it! There were instances where others would ask if there was something going on between us, well before anything happened. It was until one of my best friends helped me realize I had feelings for this person who I constantly talked to and confided in. To be honest, that was the slap of realization I needed to process the past couple of months. The church events, deep conversations, and most importantly the cupcake shenanigans were all methods of us expressing our feelings without being honest with ourselves.

I drove with my soon-to-be fiancée to a “Santa Workshop” to take a photo with Santa since we had missed December Nights because I was away at school. We walked around as I made sure everyone was in position. I distracted her as we searched for the Christmas workshop, then suggested that we visit her grandfather’s favorite spot. While I looked around for familiar faces, I guided her to the grassy patch close to the famed spot. I prepared myself for a quick second, I mean she wasn’t going to say no, right? As a precursor to the “big question”, I pulled out a Ring Pop as a callback to a prank I had pulled before. She immediately rolled her eyes and smiled. I then proceeded to explain how important she had become to me and how I thought it was fitting that I ask for her hand in marriage in the presence of the man she introduced me to all those years ago. Not a tear or gasp was expressed on her end, just a perplexed look of skepticism that what was transpiring was actually real. In the end, she said yes and everyone and their mother literally came out of the woodwork to congratulate us. There was plenty of emotion from our group of family and friends who anxiously waited for that moment to become reality. To all those who have supported us throughout our journey, I want to express my deepest thanks. Now we stand on the edge of the next chapter in our love story and I cannot wait for what God has in store for us.

Victor and I met at church. We were members of the same youth group at our home parish, however, I will admit, that I had only the slightest idea of who he was and I didn’t remember ever speaking a word to him. It wasn't until years later after we both graduated from high school and started college that he joined the leadership team after I had already been a member. Since it was a small leadership team and we spent a lot of time together, we ended up becoming great friends. He and I, along with my other best friend (shoutout to my Maid of Honor), quickly became inseparable. We did everything together. We attended all of the events together, led retreats together, and our friendship even grew beyond Church grounds. From team meetings to going on Jamba Juice and Chick-Fil-A outings, we started to get to know each other more. It didn’t take long for Victor and me to grow feelings for one another. We texted all day every day, we sat next to each other on the bus on the way to and from retreats, and he would always start cupcake fights with me. It took some time, for me at least, to fall for his gentle humor, positive energy, and ability to get along with pretty much anyone. It sounds rather cliche, but ours is the story of two best friends falling in love and I wouldn't have wanted to have it any other way. God continues to plan our story; our adventure. He has already set in motion what we patiently and faithfully wait to see. We know it’s going to be good, because “God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good.”

When Victor and I first started dating, I took him to the spot where he would end up proposing. I took him here because it was the only way I thought I could “introduce” him to the memory of someone who was so special to me, my grandfather. I never knew how important it would be to me for my grandfather to know the love of my life until I met him and I realized how alike their hearts were and how I would have loved to have seen them get along. There were so many other places that he could have chosen from that reflected our relationship, but instead, he chose this spot because he knew how much I would have wanted my grandfather to have been present during this moment. Victor told me we were going to a Christmas themed event at Seaport Village since we didn’t get to attend December Nights at Balboa Park. As we walked, we stopped by the location as usual. The following day would be 17 years since my grandfather’s passing. After some time chatting, Victor turned to look at me and smiled. Suddenly, I felt an immense feeling of nervousness and excitement take over. It started with a ring pop he took out from his pocket. This is because after a birthday party one day he took out a ring pop, put it on my finger, and asked, “does this count?” I laughed and said, “absolutely not.” So when Victor took out the ring pop this day, he knew I would remember and it would make me laugh. After sharing a few words, Victor then took the box out of his pocket, knelt down on one knee, and said, “Cassandra, will you marry me?” I felt so incredibly overjoyed and of course, I said YES! It was only once I hugged him when he stood back up that I heard the voices of our closest friends and families cheering for us. He placed the ring on my finger, passed me a bouquet of my favorite flowers that my best friend was holding on to, and we spent the rest of the day celebrating the first step towards the beginning of the rest of our lives together.