We're getting married!

Carlos and Emily met and started dating just a couple weeks before Emily was going to move to Kisumu, Kenya for 7 months for her grad school practicum. They fell fast and hard and it only took three days of Emily being gone in Kenya for Carlos to book his flights to come visit her. Flying across the world for a two week vacation with a girl that Carlos had only spent a couple of weeks with in-person might sound crazy, but the hours of conversation over the phone across multiple timezones while Emily was in Kenya meant that they had the opportunity to connect on a soul-deep level. Emily told Carlos she loved him days before moving (yes, she told him after only dating for three weeks!) but the bone-deep intuition she felt about her relationship with Carlos left no room for mincing words- especially given they were going to be separated by thousands of miles for months. The time Emily and Carlos spent in Kenya together solidified their love and upon her return they continued to fall even deeper into love. Emily moved to Washington DC to remain close to Carlos who lived and worked in Baltimore (an hour away when traffic was reasonable) and they spent weekends trading off making the commute to see each other. Through all these various stages of "long distance" there was never an ounce of doubt that the effort they were making for their love would be worth it. Neither Carlos nor Emily ever faltered and remained steadfast in their devotion to each other. Their commitment, especially in the hard times, is what makes them certain that their love will survive any challenge life throws at them.

It is no question that Emily and Carlos love their pups, Lemon and Rue. So when Carlos was deciding where to propose to Emily, he knew that he wanted to include their girls in the event. Emily and Carlos spend a lot of time walking through Seattle's various parks with their dogs and Marymoor Park is one of their favorite places. They usually grab a coffee and a pastry in the early morning and set out to burn off some of Rue's infinite energy. The day that Carlos proposed was not unlike many of the other relaxing Saturdays they spent together, which meant that Emily had no idea about the plans that had been made to surprise her with a proposal. The only difference was that, in classic Seattle fashion, there had been a downpour the night before Carlos planned to pop the question. So when they got to Marymoor, most of the fields were completely flooded. As Emily chased Rue and Lemon around (and picked up poo along the way) Carlos was frantically trying to re-coordinate the group of their friends and family who had planned to come surprise them with champagne after he got down on one knee. In the moments leading up to the proposal, Carlos decided that sticking to his plan wasn't worth missing the perfect opportunity to propose. So, plan be damned, he got down on one knee and asked Emily to be his wife. She of course said yes and they were greeted with screams and whoops as their family sprinted across the field. They had originally planned on hiding in the bushes around the proposal location, but as they were making their way to the agreed upon location, they found that their original access point had been completely flooded. Quick thinking and a lot of running meant they got there just as Carlos knelt in front of Emily. The proposal was so personal to their relationship because Carlos did it in a place that meant so much to them and made sure that their family and friends would be there to celebrate with them. It is a day that Emily will forever cherish.