It was the Pandemic summer of 2020. There was still a stay-at-home order from the government. So that meant people couldn’t go out to places, eat at restaurants, or travel out of the country.

The thought of dating was scary, so during that time, Arlo was in a quarantine-ship with someone she met early in the year out of necessity. And Brett was with his partner at the time but things between them were not great.

In order to avoid feeling totally isolated during this time, people would turn to social media outlets to keep in touch, and to see what was out there. One day Arlo was lying in bed scrolling though her Instagram feed, when suddenly something caught her attention. She was looking at a friend’s post and reading the comments from that post when she saw Brett’s comment. His profile photo caught her attention and she clicked on it. When his profile opened, she saw the cool stop motion art he had on his page. She clicked on the Over the Garden Wall video that he made, and she thought it was so good, and clicked the heart emoji. (Arlo used to work at CNS and Over the Garden Wall is one of her favorite shows) . She noticed in his tagged photos that Brett was with someone, so Arlo left it at that. Later on, she noticed that Brett liked one of her photos from her page, and maybe followed her? We can’t remember who followed who first. But during this time- it was just liking photos and nothing more, since Arlo and Brett were in relationships.

At some point though, Brett and Arlo would develop small talk online. Sometime around September/October, Arlo’s quarantine-ship had ended, as well as Brett’s relationship. Things were still weird because of the pandemic, but Brett and Arlo would talk about meeting up sometime just for waffles and ice cream. People couldn’t eat inside at restaurants yet, so it would have been just hanging outside somewhere-and finding a place that was open during the pandemic (A lot of places were still closed or only open for take-out). When they finally did, it was nice to see each other in person. Brett was taller than expected. After all, prior to this- they were only communicating online. Not even Facetime because Brett has an Android phone! During this waffle/ice cream meetup- it was nice to just to hang out. Arlo was just getting over a relationship, and she assumed that Brett was still in his. But it was nice to talk to someone in person and get out of the isolation funk she was in. During that time, Arlo learned that Brett moved to LA in July from Oregon for work, but that he used to live in LA a few years back for work as well. And that during that time (2018?), they were at the same Adult Swim concert watching Run The Jewels!

Arlo was looking forward to more future hangs with Brett, including one that involved a trip to Joshua Tree in November for a mutual friend’s birthday. Arlo was very excited for this trip because this would mean that they would spend the night at a place sort of together?? Or just the thought of spending more time with him sounded really nice. She started developing some feelings for him, but didn’t know if the feelings were mutual- because everything has been online- and at the same time, Arlo was still getting over a relationship, so she didn’t want to push it, or force anything. So this event would be the perfect place to find out if Brett liked her! Unfortunately, though, right after Halloween, Arlo got COVID and couldn’t go on the trip anymore because she still tested positive.

It wouldn’t be ‘till mid to late November that they would hang again- for a hike at one of Brett’s favorite spots in Burbank. It was a good thing that Brett and Arlo loved the outdoors and were into hiking, because everything else was closed. Arlo was still testing positive for COVID even though she felt fine- but didn’t want to get anyone sick, let alone her potential crush. But the hike was a much needed thing for Arlo because the stay-at-home order + COVID isolation was very difficult. After the hike, Arlo called her mom and told her about it, and her mom said she should invite Brett for Thanksgiving. Arlo was hesitant at first because it would have only been her and her parents at this Thanksgiving at-home dinner. Her sister wasn’t going to be there just to isolate. To her surprise, Brett agreed to join her for Thanksgiving since his family was in Oregon. It was a very memorable dinner to say the least. Arlo’s parents ate at one room, while Brett and Arlo ate at another room, with a long table between them- for maximum social distance! And wearing their masks whenever they weren’t eating. Despite the peculiar-ness of this Thanksgiving covid- dinner, Arlo and Brett had a wonderful time together. Arlo’s parents liked him from this encounter, so that was a good sign too! And Arlo wished she wasn’t testing positive so that she could kiss him right then and there! Arlo still tested positive for Brett’s birthday in December, but she still wanted to do something nice for him, and that was a beach hang at Point Dume in Malibu (Fast forward to 3 years later when this would be the place that Brett would propose to Arlo!)

This pace of taking things slow was a nice change for Arlo- which meant showing affection in other ways that didn’t involve physical contact. A Christmas miracle did arrive a few days early though when Arlo finally tested negative for COVID. And the rest was history.

What United Us:

What Arlo says: I think I would say our love for art, cartoons, video games, outdoor activities (Hiking, camping), movies is what united us.

What Brett says: I would say our mutual love of art and nature, our fun adventures we have together, and our love for each other.

How We Got Engaged:

What Arlo says: It was June 15, 2024. Brett planned a beach hang with me. At first he wanted to do it during Memorial day weekend, but I had planned a trip to DC that weekend. I didn’t understand why he was so insistent on it at first and I told him to just reschedule it. I had no idea that Brett planned a beach hang with some of our closest friends and that he was going to propose. I never mentioned what I wanted in a ring, but he figured it out (with the help of my sister), and it was really beautiful and thoughtful of him. We would talk of marriage, and knew it would happen at some point. But we did buy a home 2 years ago, so we have been recovering from that financially. And then Brett’s stop-motion work slowed down right after we bought the home, so I never pushed it or expected him to propose to me around this time, because I didn’t want to pressure him while his profession is hard to come by. So that day was a complete surprise to say the least, and will always remember it very fondly.

What Brett Says: I had been wanting to propose to Arlo for a while, but with my work being in a low point I had to save up and push my plans back by 6 months or so. During that time I reached out to a friend who makes and sells jewelry and began the process of designing the ring. With some helpful input from both Arlo’s sister Carolyn, and my friend Zia I was able to work with my jeweler friend to come up with the design of some penguin feet holding the stone. Once I got the ring, my next hurdle was to plan a day far enough in advance to give our friends some time to plan to be there as a surprise. After one false start, thanks to Arlo’s last minute trip to DC, we were able to lock down June 15th, 2024 for a trip to Point Dume, the beach where Arlo took me for my birthday early on when we were first hanging out. Once the day was decided, I reached out to a lot of our friends and had over 20 people ready to be there waiting to surprise Arlo. As far as Arlo knew it was just a beach day trip with her, her sister Carolyn, Carolyn’s husband Ray, and myself. On the day of the proposal the four of us drove out to the beach together, Arlo being none the wiser. I had the ring ready in a glass box filled with flowers from our garden, as well as some from Arlo’s parent’s garden. As we walked down the stairs to the beach I could see some large tent structures containing our friends who were all silently waiting for the big moment. My plan was to walk in that direction and pop the question as soon as Arlo saw everyone and started asking “what’s going on?” That plan might have worked if Arlo was looking up, but being a rocky beach she was focused on her footing. We were starting to walk right past our silent group of friends, so I reached out to get Arlo’s attention before getting on my knee. I wish I had prepared more to say, but at that point I pulled out the ring and held it out while asking Arlo “Will you marry me?” I’ll never forget her reaction of staring at me for a moment with a big smile and she said “What? Areyouserious?” She took the ring and our group of friends erupted in applause. It was a day I’ll remember forever.

About the Bride:

Arlyne (Arlo) Ramirez grew up in the Los Angeles area- primarily in the San Fernando Valley. She was never a girly-girl growing up. Always preferred dinosaurs and playing video games over dolls, and playing dress-up. She has one younger sister, Carolyn. And their two parents, Diana and Joaquin. They all live within minutes of each other to this day, so it’s nice to have each other around, and makes for get-togethers easy and convenient.

Arlo is still into video games and dinosaurs. But her hobbies and interests have expanded since then. She loves to travel and has visited many countries around the world already. Her goal in life though is to visit Antarctica. She might have a slight (Brett edit: not slight) unhealthy obsession for penguins!

Arlo is currently an animator on the Simpsons. Since she was 3-4 years old. She always loved to draw. Watching movies like the Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Lion King sparked her interest in doing something like that one day. She went to CSUN for college and shortly after landed her first job on a Pink Panther Cartoon. There she expanded her network, and was able to work at different studios and shows before landing a job at the Simpsons.

During her free time, Arlo likes to go out and do things with Brett and their friends now that things are back to normal- Which wasn’t the case early on in their relationship. Arlo has visited Brett’s family a couple of times already in Oregon. And in 2024, Brett went to his first Mexico trip- twice!

Arlo and Brett are cat and dog parents to their 3 year old cat Lola, and 2 year old pup Cosmo.

About the Groom:

Brett Scanlon grew up in a few cities in Oregon. First Turner, then Eugene, then Portland before moving down to Los Angeles to further pursue work in the animation industry. He enjoys camping, art, movies, video games, music, and books. His parents, Mike and Sonja, still live in Eugene Oregon, while his older brother Kenneth lives in Texas, and his younger sister lives in San Diego.

During his free time Brett likes to go on hikes and adventures with Arlo, play video games, go to movies and concerts, and work on their garden or art projects in the garage.

He does not like writing about himself.