To ensure the safety of our guests and to follow the San Luis Obispo County guidelines, it will be required to bring proof of full Covid-19 vaccination or proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours prior to our event in order to attend. Be prepared to wear a mask for the indoor portion of festivities. We apologize for any inconvenience this my cause but this is a requirement of the county and our venue. We hope to see you there.

We first met back in 2014 when I was invited to intern for a broadcast team at a basketball game When I got there on the first day I got paired with the audio team. I was so excited, and having an attractive audio engineer as the teacher was a huge bonus! Phil snapped a of me photo on the day we met and asked for my number so he could send it to me...so smooth! That photo is on the photo page for you to see. Every game I came to I was put back with the audio team, and I wasn't complaining. We would flirt throughout the day until one day I saw a text from a girl named Heather come to his phone while I was sitting at his desk. The text was asking what he wanted for dinner and I immediately assumed it was his girlfriend and stopped flirting back. Turns out he was single and that was one of his roommates! After interning for a few months I flew to Japan to teach abroad and we didn't keep in touch. It wasn’t until an entire year later that I went back for a second internship and he was still working there! One weekend he hosted an audio class. Hoping to get more into the broadcast field, and to hang out with him, I signed up. However, that day I underestimated the traffic from Santa Barbara to Irvine and was an hour late! After the class I apologized for being so late and he offered to re-do the part of the class I missed so I could learn more. I felt so special (he won't admit that it was to spend time with me, but we both know that's why). After he caught me up on what I missed we went with a few coworkers to dinner so I could wait for traffic to die down. I was telling him how much I loved Disneyland and he said "why don't we go right now? I know a fun bar in Downtown Disney we can go to and pass some time!" I couldn't believe we could just drive to Disney and we ended up staying there until the place shut down laughing the entire night. We have been inseparable ever since!

I was hard at work as an Audio Mixer on some ESPN shows. This group of students showed up one day from Santa Barbara and I was told to teach them the ropes of broadcast. That day Jenessa was assigned to me as a shadow. I taught her about broadcast audio and how to run and wrap a cable. Then she spent the whole game in the truck sitting next to me at the audio mixing board. She was definitely into me and spent much of the day flirting with me. I of course tried to keep it professional as I didn't want to get into any trouble by making her feel uncomfortable. During the game while she was sitting next to me, she SNOOPED and saw my phone light up with a text message come up from my friend and roommate Heather, asking me what I wanted for dinner. Jenessa thought that I was in a relationship because of this text, and stopped her pursuits. Then about a year later she came back to work with us on broadcasts, and that is when we really started dating. After teaching an audio class she attended, our first date was at Trader Sams, a Tiki themed bar in the Disneyland Resort Hotel. As a Disney enthusiast she was amazed we could just drive to Disneyland, as she had always lived far away. The whole time we were together that night it was like I was looking into a mirror. The conversation never halted and we had a lot of fun. Our connection was truly undeniable and electric. We then continued to date in secret for a few months and eventually told the rest of the crew that we were together.

For as long as I can remember I have been OBSESSED with The Lion King. I watched it on repeat as a child growing up and still watch it any time I have a bad day. (Phil always has it loaded in the DVD player when I get home from a hard day without me asking because he knows it cheers me up!). The 'Circle of Life' was even my walk-up song while playing softball in college and “Hakuna Matata” is a phrase I commonly use. I have always dreamt of going on a safari in the Serengeti, and told everyone that I wanted to see a wild lion up close since I was two years old! I also have a major obsession with Acacia trees and any tree that remotely looks like one, regardless of where we are I say “look a lion king tree!”. Katherine, his younger sister, swore into the Peace Corps and was stationed in Rwanda, Africa in 2018. We were all so proud of her and equally as excited to plan a trip to come and visit her! As we started planning we decided to also fly over to Tanzania to make my safari dreams a reality. On the day he proposed I had already cried several times because we ACTUALLY GOT CLOSE TO AN ENTIRE PRIDE OF LIONS! I couldn’t believe it and broke down hysterically crying. After spending an hour admiring them we continued in our safari journey back to our campsite when Phil yelled “look at that beautiful Acacia Tree! Let’s all get out and take a photo with it!” Everyone got out of the jeep to take our picture and he got down on one knee. It was perfect in every way! I was so happy to share that moment with my future family. That was one of the best days of my life so far. He was nervous to bring the real ring on the trip with us so he had a ring made for the trip with Simba engraved in the front! And on the inside, he engraved “Jenessa and Phil engaged 2019”. It is now my favorite necklace to wear. I feel so blessed to have found someone so adventurous and caring, I cannot wait to become Mrs. Englert!

I did not know exactly when I was going to pop the question. I only knew that it was going to happen while we were on Safari in Tanzania. Jenessa has been OBSESSED with the Lion King since she was a baby. It had been her life long dream to see an African lion in the wild. We went to visit my sister, Kat who was living in Rwanda. We then jumped on a bush plane to Tanzania for an unforgettable safari. I knew as we were landing on a remote airstrip surrounded by zebras that Serengeti Park would be the perfect place to propose. The first day out on safari, I had the ring in my pocket, and was waiting to see if the right moment would come. We stopped to get a photo by a beautiful Acacia tree, and I thought...maybe this is it. But something wasn't quite right so I decided to wait. Those photos turned out to be too dark anyway so I was happy I waited. I knew I wanted to do it under an Acacia tree as Jenessa loves those trees. I started dropping hints to our guide, Mohammad, about wanting to find another Acacia tree for a photo op. The next morning I woke up and knew it was THE DAY. I felt it in my gut. As I was walking to breakfast I whispered to my sister, "I have a great feeling about today" and winked. That day was our most amazing day on safari. We had great adventures as it had poured rain throughout the night. We got stuck in the mud and drove through a flooded road that had crocodiles in it. We saw elephants, hippos, giraffes, and had an intimate up close encounter with a pride of lions eating a zebra 15 feet from the jeep (how's that for romantic)! Jenessa kept saying, "This day couldn't get any better!" little did she know what was coming. After the experience with the lions. I spotted a nice Acacia tree surrounded by colorful birds, and asked Mohammad if we could stop for a photo. I said the code word to my sister and we walked out onto the plains. We got to the tree and I dropped to the knee. It was a magic moment and truly the best day ever!!