THE SECRET FINALLY IS OUT…. Zack & I are ENGAGED!!!
I had a hard time keeping my lips sealed on this one, but I really wanted to spend some time fully soaking up the fact we are seriously actually engaged & with so much of my life (happily) on social media, it was nice just to have this to ourselves for a little!
That said, I am SO thrilled it’s out in the open now cause I am really getting over long sleeve shirts/deleted insta-stories/& time spent photoshopping out the ring.
I can already tell this is gonna be a long ass post, so let me get to the point- the two questions I’ve been getting are: how did Zack propose AND how did you two meet. I have been meaning to do the how we met post, but then we got engaged & figured now is the best time to share both stories.
HOW WE MET
REWIND TO 6 YEARS AGO- I was living with 2 of my best friends a little beach town called Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Down the street from our place was the diviest dive bar in the world called the Shanty (San Diegan’s reading this are cringing rn). It’s your typical neighborhood dive bar- shitty liquor, smells like cigs, a juke box, dirty bathrooms, pervy old guys in the corners, & ALWAYS PACKED.
One night my roommates came into my room & said “get dressed, we’re going to The Shanty”. I was reallllly not in the mood to go… but they were giving me shit so I sacked up & agree to go for a little.
When we walked into the bar I scanned the room, like most single girls do, & I spotted Zack across the bar. One of my friends always seems to find the hottest guy in the room so I literally looked at her & said two things I would NEVER typically say…. “DIBS!” & then “I am gonna marry that guy”.
I went from wanting to stay in with a face mask to deciding I was gonna marry the stranger across the bar. I wouldn’t call it love at first sight though cause I don’t believe in that… I just thought he was super HOT, he wasn’t sloppy drunk like the rest of the dudes, & I could tell he was a skateboarder with his cute long hair (aka my type to a tee sincee I was 12). Sitting next to Zack was a friend of mine who I had known since I was 13 which was great cause I had an IN. I walked over, chatting with my friend (my back was to Zack) all while silently pointing at Zack so Ian would make the intro.
Next thing I know, we spent the whole night talking, he walked me home, & for the next few weeks we were inseparable. We would hang out in the park & play chess/drink beers for hours, we partied with our friends, we played with his turtle, listen to records, & then we hit a road bump…
I AM BEING REAL HERE, cause not everything is perfect & although we did get our happy ending, it wasn’t always smoothing sailing. Zack had just gotten out of a 5 year relationship a few weeks before we met & us meeting was VERY difficult for his ex…. which I felt SO HARD considering 6 months before I was in her exact shoes.
I won’t go into detail, but things got kinda ugly & I was the “target” of her pain. Since we were just casually dating we decided it would be good to take a step back & let Zack tie up those loose ends fully before we move forward. EVERYONE needs time to heal after a breakup & I always say being a rebound never works out well.
A few months later I got an email from him while visiting my Grandpa. Things had settled with the ex, she was given the time to move on, & we picked up where we left off. Two years later we moved in together & have been together ever since. A lot of people are commenting “finally!” on my Instagram announcement because I guess 6 years is a very long “courtship”, but for us, it was the perfect amount of time. We’ve been through good times, bad times, we moved together twice, we traveled, we’ve gotten in fights, we’ve made up, we had experienced it ALL.
Also, I’d like to note that I was never the little girl playing wedding day with Barbie & Ken. I wasn’t dreaming about my perfect wedding all my life, I was dreaming about finding Zack & I did. We were happy & that’s all that mattered. It was only last year that we started casually discussing getting married….
… & then on February 25th, it all went down SO PERFECTLY.
THE PROPOSAL
SO- one week before Zack proposed we found a stray dog running through the streets. I fell in love with this dog & when we brought him to the vet he had to go to the Humane Society to try so they could attempt to locate an owner. My entire focus the week before Zack proposed was on Howard (his now name), I wanted him home with us ASAP.
Also during this time, Zack was on jury duty for a week & had to be there from 8-4 everyday.
The Monday after we found the dog (February 25th) I woke up in the morning & Zack had left for jury duty. I immediately made my morning call to the shelter to see how Howard was doing. I had been told it could take up to 30 days for him to get neutered so I was NOT expecting them to tell us he was ready to be picked up… but they did!
I called Zack but he didn’t answer cause he was in JURY DUTY(!!!), so I then called Arielle (my photographer) & was going to tell her we had to cancel because I had to go get Howard. She told me she could not reschedule for 5 weeks out & insisted we just get a few pictures so I had some content. I agreed cause I knew Howard was being “held” for us & I’d rather wait for Zack so we could go together anyways.
Zack called me back & said he was on break from jury duty. I told him about Howard & we planned on meeting at 4pm on the dot so we could go get him.
Arielle then picked me up & when I get in her car she says she has a place she is dying to shoot at. She showed me a rad picture her “photographer friend” took on a rooftop (this ended up being a random picture she found on Instagram). She got us permission to shoot & I was SO down. In the car we were talking about how bad my nails were & she said “what if you get engaged soon?!” (we all knew it was coming) & I responded “Zack would never propose if my nails weren’t done”.
Looking back Arielle was texting A LOT this day, which was weird, but it didn’t register at the time. We went on our merry way, shot some photos in the street, & made our way to the rooftop.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS ROOFTOP FOR A MINUTE, this is a very important part of the story…
Prior to Zack & I’s “break” when we first met we were never officially a couple, but when we got back together we were tipsy one night & snuck onto this hotel rooftop. We had to pretend we were guests & he used a credit card to open the lock on the door to the roof. When we got up there he told me to close my eyes. I heard people talking & when he told me to look I saw he had written out “be mine” in tea light candles. The noise I had heard was people helping him light the candles. SO DAMN CUTE & we were officially official.
THAT BEING SAID, I KNOW THIS HOTEL. I literally say “this is where Zack asked me to be his girlfriend!” every time we drive by. For some reason, on February 25th, I got temporary amnesia & I didn’t think we were in the hotel where Zack asked me to be his girlfriend.
At one point I did say to Arielle “I think this is the hotel where Zack asked me to be his girlfriend??” & she said acted surprised. Then when we got to the stairs to the roof she asked if this was the place & I said “I don’t think so, it was dark though….”. When we got on the roof I said “no this is definitely not it!”.
PLUS, Zack was at jury duty on a criminal case, we were meeting at 4 to get Howard, & my nails were so bad. There was no way this was going down. The dog situation really worked in his favor because I was not focusing on the little hints happening all around me.
Arielle was texting for a minute while on the roof, and again, I was oblivious while scrolling through Instagram. We started taking photos & Ari told me to go over to this area to get the view in the shot, I was facing the door to the roof & we started shooting. About 10 minutes into the photos, the door opened to the roof, Zack walked out, & at this point… I knew.
BUT STILL- I was SO shocked!!! I recall saying “what is happening?!” over & over again. It’s kind of a blur because I was so excited, but I remember Zack getting down on one knee & all I really heard was “do you know where we are right now? I asked you to be my girlfriend on this rooftop 6 years ago….”.
it was the same rooftop after all… if you didn’t get that by now!
Then he got up & I completely forgot to say yes or even look at the ring. I just wanted to hug & kiss him & I am pretty sure the first thing I said “I’ve never seen this shirt before! Did you buy a proposal shirt?!” while crying (he did!!!). Followed by a YES, obviously!!!
I also did not understand why he wasn’t at jury duty, turns out he had the day off from court & was sitting in a coffee shop since 8 in the morning!
Honestly- it was THE best proposal I could have ever asked for & shows to me how much he really knows me…
It was intimate & meaningful to us, he proposed to me on a blog shoot so he KNEW I’d be looking extra cute, & he had my photographer/good friend there which was SO SMART. I loved that someone we cared a lot about was not only there to capture the moment but also be a part of it. My nails weren’t done, but I forgive him because that was a great tactic to throw me off.
Once we called family & told everyone the news- we went straight to the shelter to pick up mister Howard Idaho… so basically, it was the BEST DAY EVER!
& there you have it!!!! That was so fun to write out & I am glad I will have this written out forever & ever so I can relive that day whenever I want. Thank you for reading & THANK YOUU guys so much for all the warm wishes & I can’t wait to take you all along on this wedding journey with me
[ PHOTOS BY CINDY ROMERO ]