We're so excited to celebrate with you!

We were initially introduced to each other through mutual highschool friends and Chris's cousin, whose wedding party we were a part of. We didn't hit it off immediately at the wedding, however Chris did attempt to slide into those DMs (never give up)! Eventually during finals week, we found ourselves venting our frustrations through Facebook on all of the assignments and studying we had to do with no time left to do them (yet we still found time to talk to each other, I know). Soon enough, we began to find any excuse to hang out which ultimately led to our first date. April 15, 2011: The plan: go to the movies, enjoy a nice dinner and head to a Rutgers party. April 15, 2011: What actually happened: Missed our movie time, watched Rio, grabbed food at Hoagie Haven in Princeton (so fancy), ended up getting lost on the way to Rutgers and had a competitive burping contest at Belle Audi (we stopped by there because it's Chris's favorite dealership). And voila, that was our first date! Fast forward about a month later, and a couple more dates with "just a friend", we found ourselves in Princeton again by the water fountain. As we were about to leave, we sat down on the stairs by the water fountain, and that's when Chris asked me to be his girlfriend and after what seemed like 20 minutes, I finally said yes! Crazy to think our parents have known each other for many years and it ultimately took 18 years for us to officially meet and here we are!

After sneaking away on our first trip to Ecuador in 2017, we had an itch to travel again. After weeks of planning and looking for the best deals (we were still fresh out of college and therefore broke), we decided to go to Greece and spend two weeks hopping from city to city enjoying everything that all of these new places had in store for us. For Ximena, planning this trip was just like any other, choosing outfits, last minute packing, yelling at me for not remembering to order this or that. For me (Chris), the planning of this trip and all of the little things began MONTHS prior. From trips to multiple jewelry stores to find the perfect ring, to secret fittings on Ximena's finger when she knocked out after a long day, to the ordering and successful stashing of flower pedals, Rio DVD, and Bentley's lookalike bobble head in our luggage, it was all in the details. After a couple of days of traveling and finally making it to our cliff side Airbnb in Santorini, it was time to put the proposal plan into effect. I made reservations to go out and eat at a restaurant on the island and quickly proceeded to get dressed and run away to prep. While Martha got ready for dinner I spread out the blue flower pedals and staged all the cameras that I had brought with me to capture the grand moment. Eventually Ximena came up the stairs to the terrace where I had been waiting anxiously for a little while. I'm not a man of many words, however I had planned a speech and forgot every word as soon as I saw her come up the stairs in her blue and white dress (that I picked out for her). After a short but emotional moment, I got down on one knee and popped the question, she said yes! Even though not all the details that I had planned came to fruition, like the photographer who bailed on me last minute, it was a beautiful and intimate moment that we are always going to remember and cherish. We're excited to celebrate this next step of our lives with you all, see you in May!