From hometowns 1,500 miles away and cultures that would seem so different...
She was born in Texas to her parents Cesar and Leticia. She lived in Mexico for 10 years until moving to Laredo, Texas in 5th grade.
He was born in Ohio to his parents Frank and Heather. He lived in Hubbard, OH his whole life until moving away to college.
She spent her time playing outside with her sister and cousins and going to and from dance lessons, tennis lessons, and English classes.
He would never be caught without a ball in his hands. Even if nobody else was around, he would have a game going on.
She started playing tennis when she was 6. She advanced to the Texas high school state tournament twice.
He has played baseball since he was 3, winning a World Series along the way.
She was voted Prom Queen and graduated from St. Augustine High School in the top 10 percent of her class. She decided to leave home after watching Ohio State beat Michigan on TV and then receiving a 4-year scholarship to the greatest school on earth.
He was a three-year letter winner in baseball and basketball and graduated from Hubbard High School as valedictorian. His college choice was made simpler when he received The Patrick Foundation Scholarship, a full-ride to The Ohio State University.
She lived in the dorms at Ohio State her first two years and then moved off-campus with five of her best friends. She enjoyed her Italian and Speech Pathology classes and teaching her friends how to speak Spanish and dance salsa.
He made the most of the best years of his life with the people he'd be friends with forever, while struggling through a hundred calculus classes.
She met him multiple times around campus, but something always interfered (like Alex's kick to her shoulder). Finally on January 16, 2012 she got enough of his attention to spark a fire and has talked to him every day since.
He doesn't quite remember the first said meeting, and frankly wasn't all that interested in any kind of girlfriend. But the night at Ugly Tuna proved that the best things come when you aren't looking for them.
She fell head over heels for him on their first date, where he took her to her favorite Italian restaurant and ordered a bottle of her favorite wine. Although he was distracted by the basketball game playing on the TV behind her, he won her over with his bright smile, and by paying for her dinner, of course.
He knew she was a keeper when she agreed to the date even though he intially told her they were going to Dominos ... and when she was ready to go right on time.
She had been hanging out with him for almost two months when she started losing patience. She wanted him to formally ask her to be his girlfiend, and gave him obvious hints for two months.
He granted her wish on March 16, 2012, making that anniversary number one.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor's degree in Speech and Hearing Science and accepted a position as a research coordinator at Cincinnati Chidren's Hospital. A year later, she started on her Master's degree in Speech Pathology at Miami of Ohio, 129 miles from him.
He finished his college career against his will, earning his degree in Industrial Engineering. He started working his way up the ladder at Chase, where he is now designing new ATMs and tablet applications.
She had been wanting him to take her to Niagara Falls for three years. When he finally did, she thought it was just going to be a nice getaway over her spring break.
He had been waiting for the right time to go to Niagara, where he would ask the woman of his dreams to marry him. He planned a romantic helicopter ride over the falls, where he got down on one knee.
She said, "Yes!!!...did you ask my parents?"
He had.
Her Engagement Story
I had been asking Frank to take me to Niagara Falls in Canada for a couple of years, since his parents live so close to the border. Finally, a couple weeks after we celebrated our 3 year anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend, we drove up to Hubbard over my spring break to spend a day with his family, and then we would be making the trip to Canada to see the falls. At this point, I had no idea he was planning to propose.
It seems like every time we have to drive a long distance, we are either stuck in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm. This time was no different; we were stuck in a snowstorm after being on the road for a little over an hour. We pulled over to a gas station to wait it out, and I was trying to convince Frank to turn around and go back to Hubbard. He insisted on waiting, and good thing we did. After almost 4 hours, we made it to Canada. Frank had told me to put on a nice outfit since he had made reservations at a very nice restaurant overlooking the Falls. If you know me, you know fashion is not my forte, so I ended up wearing my favorite, most comfortable pair of jeans and my very warm sweater. Frank on the other hand, was wearing slacks, a fancy sports coat and a tie. But well, since I didn't know I was getting a ring that day I didn't bother to change and match my boyfriend, or paint my nails.
Frank told me he had a surprise waiting for me in Niagara, and since I love surprises I told him not to tell me. Twenty minutes later, however, I was begging for him to tell me! He said he was taking me on a helicopter ride overlooking the Falls; I was very excited about this, but at the same time confused since Frank is not one to take part in extreme activities, and this was pretty extreme for him. I asked if he was sure he wanted to do this and he said he was. So, off we went to the helicopter place. Still, nothing crossed my mind about the engagement.
When we got there, the lady who charged us for the ride said we would be leaving in 15 minutes. Twenty minutes go by and a helicopter lands in the runway. There was a family of 4 or 5 in front of us waiting as well, and since the helicopter sat 6 people I thought we would ride with them. When I started heading for the door, Frank held me back and said that wasn't our flight. I was convinced it was, but Frank refused to get on the helicopter with me so naturally, I stayed back.
After another 15 minutes, our helicopter finally arrived. There was no one else waiting in line so I told Frank how weird and awesome it was that we were going to get our own private helicopter! We hopped in the helicopter, got a pair of headsets and took off. We flew to the falls then circled the falls for about 5 minutes. We took pictures and pointed out giant pieces of ice and multiple rainbows. When the tour of the falls was over, we started flying back and that's when Frank started telling me some beautiful words, which is not uncommon of him, but not common either. He gave a short and sweet, one minute speech which in my mind seemed like an hour. As I was listening, I began to ask myself, "Is he proposing? No.... Is he? Yes, maybe? Wait, is he proposing???? Maybe? No no.... Yes, I think so... Maybe?" I couldn't make up my mind until he said the last few words. Frank got down on one knee as we flew above ground and asked me to marry him. I was in shock and overwhelmed with so much happiness. Out of nowhere, however, before he put the ring on my finger I blurted out, "Wait, did you ask my parents?" And of course, he had.
His Engagement Story
Cassandra had been asking to go to see Niagara Falls for over a year, so one day I started thinking about when we could take the trip north. I thought, 'Maybe we can celebrate something there?' Nothing came to mind initially; but a little while later it came to me that one day, maybe I could propose to her as she is looking at a beautiful view of the falls. It would make for some cool pictures at least, right?
That image in my head never went away, and we never decided on a better time to visit the Falls. We had been dating for 3 years, she was finally about ready to graduate, and I knew she was the woman I wanted to be with for the rest of my life, so I started to do some research. First, the ring, which was a much more demanding experience than I had expected. Sam, thanks for the ring size ;). Then, the planning. I knew I wanted to do it at the Falls, but I wasn't sure how. It needed to be something that she would remember as one of the greatest moments of her life - she deserved that. I found a website for a company that does helicopter tours, so I gave them a call to see what kinds of packages they offered. They had a private ride package that sounded perfect. So I booked it. Sam also helped me plan a party in Texas for her family and friends to celebrate the engagement without anyone else even knowing that we were getting engaged. Real thanks this time, Sam. So I had everything ready to go; the only blocker left was asking Cesar for his blessing.
I have told Cassandra since that I didn't feel nervous when the actual proposal happened, because just a week ago, I had experienced one of the most nerve wracking moments of my life. It just so happened that her parents were in Ohio to visit her the week before our planned trip. So great, I'd get to ask Cesar in person and tell them both about my plans. I went to the aquarium with the family during the day, fed Cesar multiple beers to loosen him up, then even let him change the channel on the TV in the middle of a Sweet 16 game. But Cassandra never left us alone to give me a chance to ask without her knowing. Finally it was time for bed. Everyone went to their own rooms and I never asked. But I couldn't lose this chance; I had to ask now. So I awkwardly walked into Cesar and Letty's bedroom (the light was still on!), decided on the spot that I would just ask them both for their blessings at the same time (which was probably for the best because the script I had memorized in Spanish disappeared from my head as soon as I walked into the room), and lead with, "Can I talk to you for a minute...". I can't imagine the things going through their minds after that one.
But in the end, I had nothing to worry about. They knew how happy Cassandra and I made, and will continue to make, each other and I guess they like me a little bit, too. They were fully supportive and excited. I couldn't have asked for a better conversation with my future in-laws. And the moment I walked out of their room I let out a huge sigh of relief.
On March 31, we left from Hubbard to go to Niagara Falls - in a snowstorm. I remember Cassandra wanted to turn around at one point; I think I just ignored her as I struggled behind the wheel. But we made it through the storm and got to the Falls just in time for our flight. I surprised her with the helicopter ride and expected her to get a little suspicious once she found out what we were doing. Luckily, she didn't. She thought we just got lucky enough to have a helicopter to ourselves and voice-connected headsets as we soared over the Falls. As we were up there, I was so enamored by the views that I almost ran out of time. But finally, I got down on a knee. I really didn't have any words planned, but looking at her brought a few things to mind and apparently they were good enough. Well, until 2 seconds after she said 'Yes' when she let the moment go and asked, "Wait, did you ask my parents?"
