We both share a deep passion for helping others become the best versions of themselves, and that shared calling brought us together at a social service agency in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was the only one who consistently brought his lunch and ate in the lunch room, and when I started working there, I did the same. It was a quiet, simple space, but it became the beginning of something extraordinary.

What started as casual conversations about work quickly turned into discussions about our shared values, goals, and dreams. Not long after, he asked me out and our first date felt nothing short of magical. We had lunch together, then spent the afternoon hiking through the canyon in Taos. We ended the day at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, watching the sunset and feeling something truly special unfolding.

Two months later, he brought me to Bandelier National Park. Under the vast New Mexico sky, he told me he loved me for the first time and gave me a garnet promise ring, a stone that holds deep cultural significance for me. I told him I loved him too.

The following year, just before Christmas, he proposed in the sweetest, most unexpected way. We were decorating our Christmas tree together, and I was about to place the final ornament, a Chinese ornament my mother had given me, when I opened the box and found a ring box inside. Surprised and overwhelmed with emotion, I turned around to see him on one knee, holding the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen. Of course, I said yes!

We’re so excited to begin this next chapter together and can’t wait to celebrate our love with family and friends on October 4, 2025.

J&M

Wedding Day