It's been over a 10-year journey, but we'll try to make it short. We met in high school doing drama together and became quick friends. Elana had a crush on Jon for a long time, and he finally asked her out...two weeks before he graduated. We dated for a couple of months before Jon moved away for college, and we realized that it was never going to work doing long distance. We broke up and successfully stayed close friends as we each went off to college, had our separate lives, and kept in touch. Meanwhile, everyone in our lives tried to push us back together including family, friends, and that one waitress who put Elana's drinks on Jon's bill because she just assumed we were together. Elana moved back to Orange County a year after Jon did, and we got even closer as we navigated post-college life together. About six months later, we finally admitted to each other that we wanted to be together again...right as Jon was moving to Washington. This time, we decided that we didn't care if we couldn't get the timing right, and we would make it work anyway. Jon only lasted in Washington for about two months before he moved back, and we've been together ever since.
After four years of dating and two and a half years of living together, it became pretty clear that marriage was around the corner. And when we say "it became clear," we mean that Elana figured out exactly when and how Jon was going to propose (and was admittedly a little pushy about it). So, no, there wasn't a big surprise, but it wasn't any less special. We planned a weekend trip to San Diego just for fun, and Jon's Aunt Lindy and Uncle David graciously let us stay in their condo. The night we got in, we both saw a bottle of champagne in the fridge that they had left for us, but we each pretended not to see it. The next morning, after Elana finished getting ready, she came into the living room ready to leave for the farmer's market, only to find a room full of candles and Jon. Jon proposed with great grandmother's ring from the 1920's, and it was perfectly sweet and intimate.