Photos

We got engaged in Rome, Italy on June 16, 2024!

Alex proposed to Elena in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, where Elena lived in 2001. Alex pulled out the ring while Elena was busy unwrapping a piece of Pizza Rossa.

Elena's first visit to Redding in August 2018, to help with Alex's timber-frame raising

Peeling eggs lovingly in the Heald kitchen in Redding during Elena's first visit in 2018.

Christmas 2018 in Redding

We love swimming in natural bodies of water! Swimming in the Yuba River during a trip with Alex's sister Rebecca in Summer 2019.

More Yuba River chilling

Lichen Lady and Moth Man at the Palms Halloween Party, 2019

Sunset on the beach in Deer Isle, Maine, on a September 2020 visit back to the place where we met while taking workshops at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2018

In Oakland with our beloved late dog Kiko, who Elena adopted in 2017

Taking a cooking class in Rome in 2024, a gift from Elena's sister Dara for her 30th birthday!

Hiking in Joshua Tree National Park on a visit in January 2025 (when we visited and picked our wedding venues!)

Elena went camping and rock-climbing with her late father George starting in preschool. They usually camped in Indian Cove, where our wedding ceremony will be.