In early November of 2013, Alisha had a gig coming up in Santa Monica that her two go-to guitar players were unavailable for. One of them referred her to Dan, who when asked for his rate, gave a number a little out of Alisha's budget. After no negotiating whatsoever, he agreed to do it for what she could offer.

When she answered the door a few days later for rehearsal, Dan almost fell over. It was as if when the door opened, cupid shot an arrow through the opening and right into his heart. He had no idea that his life was about to be forever changed.

The gig went great, but when Dan was cleaning out his car a couple of days later, he discovered a mysterious instrument cable. After a few moments thought, he happily realized that he must have mistakenly grabbed Alisha's cable while they were packing up. In Dan's mind, this was the perfect excuse to see her again without seeming too forward or unprofessional. She accused him of theft (jokingly), and invited him over to check out her new apartment. Over the next couple of months, they became close friends, hanging out often and playing music together.

It wasn't until January of 2014 that Dan got the courage to tell her how he felt. In the most awkward way possible, he said to Alisha as he was walking out the door after a night of hanging out that he'd like to take her out sometime. She laughed and rolled her eyes as if to say, "Yeah right, that's a good one, I'll see you tomorrow". Dan laughed too, as he shrugged off his embarrassment, and walked out. He left with a nervous shake in his step, his heart in his throat, and sat in his car for a few minutes. Thinking about it on the way home, he knew the conversation wasn't over. At the next red light, he quickly shot off what felt like the longest text message that ever existed, telling her that he wasn't kidding and really did want to take her out. No response. About an hour later, he gets out of the shower to find a lengthy text message from Alisha, only it was again a "no". She let him down as gently as she could, explaining that she just wasn't in the right headspace to take on a real relationship.

Knowing that he was going to see her the next day at a rehearsal with an artist that they were backing up, Dan knew he had to pull it together and be cool if he wanted a shot of any sort of relationship with Alisha. There was something in him that was not convinced that the answer she gave him the previous night was final. So, he was cool. They made plans to get together to try to write later that week.

Night one of trying to write: no writing, all talking, so they decided to try again tomorrow. Night two: same thing. Night three: again, no writing, just talking. It was in that moment that Dan decided that there's a reason why she keeps spending time with him. After a long talk, he convinced her to go out with him that Saturday.

Over the next two years, they dated, fell in love, and moved into a house together. When Dan told his mom that he was planning on proposing, she offered him her engagement diamond to reset and give to Alisha.

On January 15, 2016, almost two years to the day of their first date, Dan wanted to take Alisha on a hike at Griffith Park. Even with the threat of rain, soreness from her week of working out, and tight plans to see her friends before and after, she reluctantly agreed. During the hike, it was obvious that she didn't want to go all the way to the top. Dan suggested that they turn off to a look-out point and then head back down. Once they got there, they had a breathtaking view of Los Angeles. He told her to stand in front of him because he wanted to take a photo from the back of her looking out at the city. As she faced out, he pulled the ring out of his pocket, got down on his knee, and told her he got the picture. When she turned around, she saw Dan on his knee, and standing behind him were her parents, brother, four best friends, and Dan's parents and sister. So... she panicked, and then said yes.

...And she still thinks he took her cable on purpose.

D&A

Wedding Day

5:30 PM

Wedding

Reception