1/10/09- First Date (16 and 17 years old, so nervous!)

2/13/09- First Kiss (Troy's 18th birthday, snowboarding together)

6/04/16- He asked, she said yes!

7/02/17- Our wedding

The BRIDE said..."It was December 2008 and I was 16 years old. I went on a trip with one of my closest family friends to Utah (the Altonagas,) and Troy's family happened to be close with the family as well. It may sound crazy, but I remember meeting him that first night and feeling something different in my gut. He made me laugh, he was so loving to his niece, and he was genuinely kind (and not to mention good looking! With his long surfer hair he was rockin' at the time.) I got stuck on the slopes snowboarding late one day and he came to help me carry my snowboard to the car. I remember him giving me his beanie to wear when I was cold. So many little things that added up to me liking him so much. After the trip was over, he went back to Huntington Beach with his family and I went back to Anaheim Hills. I remember praying that he would somehow call me. A few days later, he called and asked me out on our very first date on January 10th, 2009. The butterflies started then, and I still get them now. Here we are almost 8 years later: engaged and so in love! I feel so blessed that we've gotten to grow up together through so many milestones, hurdles, and wonderful times. He not only is my high school sweetheart, he is truly my best friend that I get to spend forever with."

The GROOM said..."Out of the blue, I met Brooke on my snowboarding trip. I tried so hard to impress her...

She was mysterious, she was angelic, she was beautiful.

I was so into her that I actually wrote out a script after the trip to ask her on a date, so when I called her I wouldn't mess it up!

We started going out together in high school every weekend and wrote thousands of AOL Instant Messages on the weeknights to cope with our 30 mile "long-distance" relationship...

Soon I gave her a first kiss and I began to fall in love. She brought joy to every moment of my life.

That's why I wrote her so many songs on my guitar. We'd sing together on the lifeguard towers. That's why I drove to her San Diego dorm every two weeks. I couldn't get enough of her.

We grew up together. People warned that we'd grow apart... but we never did. We're the same young love teenage couple, only now we're old and wise.

We know how to conquer every hurdle and we know to kiss after every quarrel. We're like two poptarts in a toaster, and we always lift eachother up.

... Long story short, I liked her a lot, so I listened to Beyonce and put a ring on it."

The BRIDE said... "Troy knows that I am pretty good about figuring out surprises, so making this work without me finding out was something to be proud of! The night before he asked, he told me the next morning we would be having brunch with his coworkers by the beach. I woke up the next morning and got ready. When I went to put on my outfit, he stopped me and said "Actually, I think you should wear that white dress you wore to Easter. It looks pretty on you." I told him I thought that was too fancy for a casual brunch, but he assured me that his coworkers would be dressed nice too. Without a second thought, I put it on and we went out the door. When we got to the beach, he said we had some time first since we were early. So we were walking on the shore and all of a sudden he had me turn a corner…there was a blanket laid out with a dozen roses, candles, letters from him, wine glasses, and seashells scattered. I immediately started to tear up as he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and be his forever. I said yes, of course!! It made me even happier to hear that he asked my Dad already too. Off to the side I eventually noticed one of my closest friends who had been hiding and taking pictures and video. The beach is our favorite place and so special to us. I always envisioned and hoped deep down that he would ask me there. He followed our proposal with horseback riding and dinner in Laguna Beach. I can easily say it was the best day of my life!"

The GROOM said..."I knew proposing would be tricky. Brooke loves surprises, she's obsessed with them...so much so that she's really good at spotting them. So I really wanted to make sure I caught her off guard. My plan was to surprise her on the beach with a picnic proposal so I built, bought, or borrowed stuff to set it up.

I knew Huntington Beach would be beautiful and empty in the early morning. The beach has always been a special place for both of us.

I also knew Brooke would really want pictures of us at this moment...

So I had our friend (Noelle) helping me out as far as setting up the picnic and acting like a rock on the beach with a hidden camera.

Now the only last piece of the puzzle was this... how the heck am I going to get Brooke down to the shore early in the morning, in a nice dress, while I'm nicely dressed, without her thinking something is obviously up???

I brewed up a plan.

I had been working at a new company in which mostly everyone dresses classy and I knew that she knew that. She also knew that they occasionally have events outside of work. So I said we were going to brunch with some of them on Saturday morning at the beach at 9am so she'd get all la-te-da for it. She dressed up.

Then we started driving, I strategically "checked my phone" and realized "we were an hour early"...

Now that we had time, but had already reached Pacific Coast Highway, I suggested that we kill time by walking around on the beach...

Then very slowly we walked along the shore, until we got closer and closer to the setup.

Finally, as we got closer to it, she noticed it and said "Whats that?"and I replied, "I don't know, let's go look!"

When we got close enough, she realized what it was, and I dropped a knee and did the whole jig. She said no...just kidding. ;) "