During the time Eli and Christine met, Christine had dreadlocks underneath her hair and a buzzcut on the sides. Her buzzcut was getting too long and she needed someone to cut it. Eli was one of the few people on campus who also had dreadlocks and a buzzcut (plus he was really cute) so Christine decided to ask him if he could help. She messaged him on Instagram and asked him to who he went to do his hair and he said he did his own hair... so Christine asked if Eli would do her hair and he said yes! And it's all history from there!

A month before the proposal, Eli asked his good friend and photographer, Rafa, if he would help him pop the question. Rafa agreed and they devised a plan where Rafa would post on Instagram that he was looking for models for a portfolio project. When he posted this, Eli sent it to Christine asking if she wanted to be a part of the project and she agreed. (Rafa had done photoshoots with Eli and Christine before, so this wasn't out of the ordinary.) On the day of the proposal, Rafa and Eli took Christine to a beautiful location at North Avenue Beach in Chicago with a backdrop of the city skyline. Rafa had them do cute poses for a little while and then had them face opposite directions. When he had Christine turn around, Eli was on one knee and asked her if she would marry him! Of course, Christine said yes!