In October 2015, Jaime had just moved to San Francisco and decided to try a new dating app. One of the first pictures she saw was Justin’s, and she spent a whole train ride back from her job in Palo Alto thinking up something clever to say. She decided on: “I don’t usually work up the nerve to say hi, but you have such a great smile that I couldn’t help it.” Justin, assuming this was a reused line, flirted back because he thought she had the prettiest smile he'd ever seen. Exchanging messages all of Halloween weekend, they decided to meet at a wine bar near Jaime’s place, and within minutes they uncovered out how much they shared: devout college tour guides, squinty smilers, and bad joke tellers (Justin holds that the jokes are high quality). Drinks turned to dumplings, and at the end of the date, Jaime made a bold claim that her fortune cookie prophesized a second date. Justin was floored by her courage and creativity, and Jaime was ecstatic to see a text from Justin before she even got home.

Weeknights were filled with mini golf, ice skating, museums, and rooftop picnics, and when Justin went to Thailand in January, the two of them exchanged notes as one was waking up and the other went to sleep. When Justin came home, they made it official and became inseparable. They still love thinking about their first trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea, hanging out at Carmel Beach under the cypress trees. Undeterred by Justin's sea sickness while whale watching in Monterey Bay, they’ve continued their adventures all over – Costa Rica, Alaska, Canada, Arizona, Hawaii, Mexico, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Boston, Portland, and adventuring all over California. Still, Carmel will always be their favorite place because it’s where they fell in love.

In the spring of 2019, Justin convinced Jaime that he was going to Arizona for a business trip. In reality, he was headed to Scottsdale to tell Jaime’s parents that he couldn’t wait to marry their daughter, the girl of his dreams. Justin and Jaime left for a trip Justin pitched as a relief from a stressful few months, but he wouldn’t tell her where they were headed. This sort of thing is typical of Justin, but as they drove down the coast, Jaime thought maybe he had something up his sleeve. But when they sped right past Carmel, she didn’t suspect anything. In Big Sur, they took a short walk to one of their favorite redwood groves. Justin pretended to pose them for a picture. He turned to her, got down on one knee, and popped the question! Through tears and giggles, Jaime said, “Of course!”. They spent the weekend in Carmel, after all, and they couldn’t imagine a better place to share their big day with all the people they love most!