We matched on Bumble mid-March 2020, exchanging messages amidst the onset of a global pandemic. Unsure what the next few weeks, nay, year would be like, we continued chatting through the app then exchanged numbers. Jake made the first big move asking Natalie to FaceTime date. While reluctant at first (because no one looks their best on FaceTime!), a dirty martini gave just enough courage for Natalie to extend an invite for April 18th. After hitting it off, Natalie asked Jake if he would be open to meeting in person, “You could make me a margarita or something!” On April 25th, we had our first date at Jake’s apartment. Jake had a brainstorm sesh with Dubois and made a game plan – margaritas, guac, and fish tacos. Later that week, Natalie went to Marina del Rey 2 more times, including inviting herself over for Jake’s birthday. Soon enough, 3 times/week of getting together turned into being together 6 days/week and then 29 days/month. You get the gist.

For months we talked about making a trip to wine country - Santa Ynez Valley. Natalie had been to Santa Ynez for her 32nd birthday and couldn’t wait to go back. Jake, although a big fan of wine, had never been wine tasting. It was the perfect weekend getaway in a year where a getaway included a trip to the grocery store. The original plan was to travel over the Christmas holiday, but when COVID shutdowns made this impossible, we decided to turn it into a celebration of the one year anniversary of our first date (see “Our Story”). However, the pending arrival of our newest family member on April 15th meant that we would have to reconsider our plans, again. The weekend of April 10th emerged as the perfect date for this overdue vacation. We spent several weekends in February and March looking at engagement rings and unbeknownst to Natalie, Jake purchased the ring and was waiting for the right opportunity. Knowing that this would be the last getaway we could make for some time, Jake decided that this trip would be the perfect moment!

Jake started planning his proposal the only way he knew how - by Googling “how to propose in Santa Ynez Valley.” One section stood out. It was a blog by a tour company that talked about how to propose on one of its wine tours. “Done,” Jake thought. After a discussion with the company, he was sold. Next, Jake wanted to make sure they were staying at the perfect place. Natalie received a few recommendations and Jake pushed strongly for Santa Ynez Inn. It was a little nicer than where we would normally stay but, Jake wanted to stay somewhere special, and Natalie suspected a potential proposal, so she decided to let Jake run with it. Jake, filled with anxiety about proposing at a place where he had never visited, stayed in contact with the tour company. We were traveling to 3 different vineyards on Saturday and Jake had decided that it would be best to propose right when they arrived at the second one. Deciding that this had a much more vineyard “feel” it would be perfect for the occasion. When Jake shared this idea with Ozzy (the owner of the tour company), Ozzy immediately shut down the plan. Instead, he recommended proposing at the first vineyard stop: Bella Cavalli. Jake was a little hesitant as this vineyard also had a horse farm on its premises, but Jake decided to trust Ozzy. Jake wanted to make sure we memorialized the event, so he asked Ozzy for photographer recommendations, and of course, Ozzy knew just the person. “You should know I’m not a professional photographer” was the first thing our “photographer” told Jake. “Well, that’s close enough.” Jake thought, and the photographer was set!

The weekend arrived and on April 9th we set out for Santa Ynez. After an afternoon in Los Olivos wine tasting and dinner in Solvang we were ready for our vineyard tour on April 10th! The morning of the 10th arrived. We got breakfast at our hotel and enjoyed it on our balcony - it was a perfect morning. Our driver arrived and we were on our way. Jake, sitting in the back of the car hoping that Natalie wouldn’t notice the ring box in his pocket, tried to play it off by talking to the driver. Natalie, thinking that Jake was a lot more chatty to the driver than usual, just enjoyed the ride. We arrived at Bella Cavalli. A corgi greeted us and Natalie recognized the corgi (naturally) and property as one she visited on her 32nd birthday. We sat down and were immediately welcomed by Jeff, the owner of the vineyard. Jake quickly realized why Ozzy recommended Bella Cavalli - it was perfect. After our tasting, Natalie went to the restroom, and Jake took the opportunity to figure out his game plan. He told Jeff that he planned to propose in a matter of moments, but wasn’t sure how best to execute. Jeff responded as someone who had planned this day for months, when she returned, Jeff would ask us if we would like another tasting, and then recommend that we walk around the facility. There were 3 fields with wooden fences boasting more than 70 horses. Jeff said he would come over and recommend that we walk around one of the fields and return on a dirt road lined with large pine trees that split two fields. While Natalie was still in the restroom, our driver came to meet Jake to inform him that the photographer was there and ready.

Natalie returned and Jake decided he should use the restroom before the big event. He returned, and on cue, Jeff asked us which wine was our favorite from the tasting. We both decided on Tempranillo and Jeff poured us a full glass and encouraged us to walk around the property. Jake asked Natalie if she wanted to go for a walk and she agreed. We walked down the middle of two fields planning to circle around one of the fields. As we walked, the only thing on Jake’s mind was, “Holy crap, we both have a full glass of wine, what are we going to do with the glasses?” As we turned the corner and began our walk down the dirt road between the two horse fields, about half-way down the field was a massive tree stump, a perfect table for our wine glasses. As we approached the tree stump, Jake grabbed Natalie’s wine, turned and placed both glasses on the tree stump. He turned Natalie around and went into his short, prepared speech. Before Natalie knew it, Jake was on one knee asking Natalie to spend the rest of her life with him. Jake stood up and instead of trying to put the ring on her finger, handed the ring to Natalie. In the distance, we heard a rumble. Unbeknownst to us, we were in perfect view of the other winery tour guests, approximately 100 yards away and they began cheering us on the engagement! The photographers soon approached us and we felt like celebrities being swarmed by paparazzi as we walked to the end of the road. The other tour guests soon joined us, along with Jeff, who met us with a bottle of his sparkling wine. We called our parents and enjoyed our wine. We soon had to leave Bella Cavalli. We bought a few bottles of wine, and Jeff threw in a bottle of sparkling wine. We continued on the rest of our tour, calling our friends and family, interrupted with glasses of wine. It was perfect.