Danielle and Spencer met in Newport Beach, CA during November 2014. Danielle was in her third year in college at UC Irvine, while Spencer had started his first job at Cushman and Wakefield. Danielle decided to go out with her college roommate/best friend Juliana to celebrate Juliana’s 21st birthday. Danielle and Juliana happened to go to a bar in Newport Beach that Spencer was at that night. Spencer was acting as a wingman for his friend and was tasked with talking to Danielle. Spencer was nervous talking to Danielle that evening, however, he masked his nervousness by being outgoing and displaying his exuberant nature. Danielle was nervous too because not only was this the first bar she had ever been too but this was the first guy she ever talked to at a bar. Danielle liked Spencer and thought he was not only handsome but extremely outgoing. They both exchanged numbers and went their separate ways.

Spencer waited four days to follow up with Danielle in an attempt to not seem desperate. Both messaged each other throughout the Thanksgiving holiday and decided on a date during the first week of December. They had their first date at a Yard House in Newport Beach.

This date was Danielle’s first date with a guy ever and she was very nervous. She had already fallen hard for Spencer’s bubbly personality and loved how funny he was. What Spencer remembers most from that night is that it was the first time he had ever felt a connection with someone. He admired Danielle for her character, pursuits, and adoring personality. During that first date, Spencer realized that Danielle would be someone he dearly wanted in his life. The symbolism of Danielle wearing a red sweater and it being his Grandma Gabriella’s favorite color only strengthened the superstition that she was the “one”!

Three weeks later, after a couple of more dates and having met some of his childhood and college friends at his ugly sweater Christmas party, Danielle went on a night out with Spencer and some of his fraternity brothers from OSU Sigma Pi on New Year’s Eve. While in the Uber, Spencer mustered up the courage to ask Danielle to be his girlfriend.

Spencer had been sitting on the fence for a couple of years about getting engaged. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Danielle but didn’t truly know if he was ready to get married. The occurrence of Danielle being admitted into law school escalated his thought process and forced him into action.

Spencer organized lunches with some of Danielle's closest friends to solicit opinions on what type of ring would be ideal for her. He also spoke to Ernest her dad and asked for his blessing for going forward with the proposal. Spencer thought long and hard about a location/setting that would mean something to them both and solidify the moment of the occasion.

Spencer settled on proposing in Santa Barbara on atop the Chumash Mountain range. Santa Barbara was home to his mom’s side of the family, and he had various childhood memories there with both of his parents. It made sense to him to share it with Danielle.

During this time, COVID-19 was in full effect and made logistics extremely difficult. However, on the weekend of May 24th, 2020. Spencer and Danielle traveled together that weekend to Santa Barbara to take couples photos and were joined by good friend Kevin Zamora. Danielle remembers the trip up being hilarious but noted that Spencer was ecstatic the whole time and erratically driving through the streets and mountains of Santa Barbara. Danielle thought it was odd that Spencer insisted on wearing a Juventus jersey for their professional couples’ photo shoot.

Around 4:00 PM, they reached the top of the Chumash Mountains. Spencer’s initial planned spot was the Hertz Castle, which unfortunately started a renovation process. Kevin had the idea of going to another nearby peak. When they finally arrived at the peak, there were some moments of hesitation. However, as soon as Danielle wasn’t looking Spencer and Kevin’s way, Kevin immediately signaled to Spencer to start his proposal and got on one knee.