New to LA and open to possibility, we matched on a dating app since we had a shared Facebook friend. Scrolling through Drew's profile, Melissa really liked his face and trusted that he'd passed a decent background check to work at the hospital....while Drew liked her smile and had a good feeling. Before we'd made plans for a first date, we recognized each other on the same staircase at work and met in real life. This became a common occurrence in the elevator, in the cafeteria, and on the sidewalk. Our first date was to watch the PAC12 football championship and Melissa's diehard inner Wildcat fan took a backseat as Drew's Oregon ducks claimed victory.

After Drew asked my parents for their blessing in July, he started thinking of the perfect time to propose. My mom suggested the next time my whole family would be together: in August. This particular August was busy! My brother and his fiancé, Lauren, were in town to look at wedding venues, and 3 birthdays happen close together. With all my family gathered for a weekend, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. On Sunday, I hugged my parents & sisters goodbye early on and was so grateful for a spontaneous brunch that my brother and Lauren invited us to in Malibu. (I get very nostalgic when family leaves, so this was a perfect way to spread out the goodbyes). On the drive, Drew was pretty distracted, checking his phone, but I chalked it up to some fantasy football league thing. We arrived to the restaurant parking lot early, so Drew suggested we walk on the beach. I was wearing sandals that were easy to take off, so I happily agreed. To my horror, Drew was wearing loafers and hadn't brought sandals for a beach walk (sand in shoes is THE worst). He refused to walk barefoot and told me he'd cut his foot so he kept the shoes on (my sister made him promise to not propose in flipflops!). We walked for a little while and then Drew stopped, spun me around toward the ocean, and started talking about our relationship (slightly unusual but then again our anniversary was coming up). The next thing I knew, he was reaching into his pocket and getting down on one knee (very close to the water). It didn't seem real! He didn't have time to open the ring box before I'd answered yes. Drew even had his friend snap pictures of our proposal! Finally, we arrived to brunch and I walked in expecting to share the news with my brother and Lauren, but soon found a whole back room full of family and friends. No one had left like I thought. It was shocking to see all their happy faces, and to know that each of them helped make this day so perfect. We only wished that Portland wasn't so far away!