Our first date was at Chimayo’s, a small restaurant in Huntington Beach, CA. It was clear there was chemistry from the onset as a simple Wednesday night evening stretched on until the restaurant literally began closing around them. Sara got into her car and immediately called her best friend Dina to tell her, "I just met the man I am going to marry".

The next year was riddled with a myriad of precious firsts; first kiss, first weekend away, first international trip, first meeting of the families, each one as sweet as the last.

In May of 2008 Bill sent Sara an evite (in typical Bill fashion), inviting her to a "Super Secret Adventure"...to take place in December, 7 months later. So Sara waited and waited and Bill tortured her. He convinced her that the trip would require a plane, gave her a packing list that would accommodate virtually every climate imaginable and kept her guessing. They left on December 28th, 2008. He drove her to the airport, parked the car and together they walked into the terminal. Once inside Bill looked at Sara and said "I forgot something in the car...us." And back they went. He ended up driving them back to Chimayo’s to celebrate their first date together. Then they drove east. They stopped for coffee at a Starbucks in Riverside and Sara knew immediately where they were headed: the Parker Palm Springs, the location of their first trip together. Once they arrived at the Parker, little did Sara know, but the entire staff was expecting them and what was to come. After some knowing glances, a manager escorted them to their private villa. Once inside Bill suggested they check out the bedroom. Sara opened the pocket doors and saw the room filled with balloons, roses, and rose petals. Bill whipped her around, got down on one knee, and proposed. Sara jumped on the bed kicking her legs in the air (Bill added this to be funny, Sara in fact did not “jump on the bed and kick her legs”, but she did grab him and kiss him) and eventually told him yes. (Though, he was definitely scared that the yes would never come.)