How They Met:

Mike or Anna were not prepared for the challenges of dating during a pandemic, but that’s the situation they found themselves in as they navigated the waters of social distancing, remote learning, and online dating. Mike and Anna had both been in the online dating scene for a while, but by the summer of 2021 they were both exhausted with the endless scrolling, mundane conversations, and dates that went nowhere. Mike especially had reached the limits of his patience, but decided he would give the process one last try before officially retiring and resigning himself to the single life for good. But he knew that if he was going out, he was going out big. The plan was simple: find an awesome girl, lead with the wittiest one-liners and best "dad" jokes he could muster, and hope that she wasn't scared off by the suspicious number of cat photos in his profile. It wasn't long before he came across Anna's profile, and he knew this was the opportunity he had been waiting for. Mike played it cool at first, but it was clear that Anna was interested in him as well. They started talking, and after a few weeks decided it was time to meet in person and plan a first date. Little did they know, it would be the last first date they would ever have.

The First Date:

The story of their first date is a good one, although a little too long to outline here in full detail. Mike and Anna decided to meet at Hapa's Brewing Company in Los Gatos, and let's just say he wasn't the only guy at the bar who thought he was on a date with Anna that afternoon. After a slightly confusing introduction, they settled in and immediately hit it off. A few hours and a few beers later, they decided to plan a second date. This would eventually turn into a third and fourth, and it wasn't long before Mike summoned up the courage to ask Anna to officially be his girlfriend. Maybe it was his expert mastery of shadow puppetry that really sealed the deal, but regardless it wasn't long before they were meeting each other's families, taking vacations, and eventually moving in together. By the summer of 2023, they knew it was time to take the next step.

The Proposal:

She knew the proposal was coming, but Mike tried his hardest to keep the timing a secret with a few well-intentioned white lies. While Anna did her best to guess the style and shape of her engagement ring, Mike plotted to find the perfect time and place for the proposal. They decided to take a day trip to Half Moon Bay before Anna went back to work, and he knew this was the perfect opportunity to pop the question. After a walk along the beach and a stop at the Moss Beach Distillery for lunch, Mike was starting to get nervous. It was getting late in the day and he was still waiting to find the perfect opportunity to propose. After lunch they were both tired, but Mike managed to convince Anna to take another walk along the beach down a trail next to the restaurant. They found a quiet place overlooking the ocean and took a moment to enjoy the view. Anna told Mike that she was happy her ring wasn't ready yet because it took the pressure off the trip and allowed her to the enjoy the day without expectations. Mike knew this was the moment he was waiting for, and asked her if she wanted her ring today. Nervously, he pulled the ring out of his pocket, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. As nervous as he was that day, he couldn't have imagined it going any other way.