When you know, you know.
It was the fall of 2020, mid Covid (since that's how we're remembering timelines these days). Since there wasn't a whole lot of social activities going on at the time, we were both sitting at home scrolling social media, and Hinge (the dating app).
Meghan came across Josh, SWIPE RIGHT.
Josh came across Meghan, SWIPE RIGHT.
Josh messages Meghan some not-so-witty pick up line. She actually responds. One thing leads to another and they end up exchanging numbers and taking this convo off Hinge. BIG STEP! That's where we hit a wall. Josh ends up talking to someone else on Hinge while at the same time, Meghan wasn't feeling great and they didn't end up meeting in person right away.
A few weeks after this initial exchange, Josh is ready to try again. He texts Meghan out of the blue:
Josh: "Hey, long time no talk. We should meet up soon!"
Meghan: "who's this?"
Josh: OH NOOOOOOO. I BLEW IT.
Since you know how the story ends, we can fast forward to going on our first date at The Brigantine in Del Mar, where Josh eventually proposed on the beach 1 year later.
Early on in the relationship, Meghan was the one who called it out.... deep down, we both knew we were soul mates. Meghan was the one with the guts to say it.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you" she said. Words we'll never forget.
A few months later, we're planning the rest of our lives together and Josh throws out the idea: "Let's get engaged".
Meghan: Are you serious!?
Josh: Yes! WHEN YOU KNOW YOU KNOW.
This conversation happened somewhere around early to mid August of 2021. Josh starts doing some due diligence on engagement rings (thanks to the help of his wonderful work family- Talechia, Fran & Shirin + his FAVORITE cousin Laurie that connected him with the NYC Diamond District Jeweler)
From there, Josh kept Meghan in the dark. He said:
"we'll be engaged by the start of 2022. All the supply chains are backed up from Covid and it's going to take a while to get the ring!"
Meghan didn't have the patience. She was too excited and didn't want to wait. Josh, knowing that, had to act quickly. THANK GOODNESS the jeweler had the stone and got it to SD 4 days later!!!
Josh stuck to his story "sometime before 2022!".
In the meantime, he was planning the engagement. Surprise Meghan by having Josh's entire family fly out from Maryland. Get's Meghan's parents & brothers in on it. But the most CRITICAL piece of the puzzle, our good friends Kayla & Jordyn. They helped plan the fake double date that Meghan will never forget.
Per usual, on the way to dinner, Kayla & Jordyn txtd us that they were going to be LATE to our reservation. Josh had the bright idea to say "hey, let's walk down to the beach and watch sunset until they get here in a little bit".
Little did Meghan know, they were never going to show up. Instead, as Meghan's parents are driving over the bridge at dog beach in Del Mar, they catch a glimpse of Josh, down on one knee proposing to Meghan. The photographer was there to capture it all (see our photo gallery!). Both families ran down to the beach to surprise Meghan and celebrate the night with dinner at The Brigantine, where it all started.