To this day, Lauryn owes it all to Afters Ice Cream.

Ruben and Lauryn met in the fall of 2020 at a YA Bible Study, led by Lauryn's former youth leader. After being friends for a few months, Ruben offered Lauryn a ride home from Bible Study on June 17th, 2021. However, instead of going home, they went to get ice cream at Afters. Unfortunately, the shop was closed.

Since they were closed, they decided to go to Ralphs to buy cheap (in quality and price) ice cream, and since they were so close to the beach, they might as well eat it there! Together at the beach, they bonded over horrible ice cream, music, God, and life. This is the part that feels like a Hallmark movie. It started to rain! Did they rush back to the car? No, they put their hoods on and continued to talk about anything and everything under the sun. Finally, the rain had stopped, and Ruben took Lauryn home, where he asked her out on their first official date. This jumpstarted their now three-year-long relationship that’s been filled with laughter, road trips, singing so loud their voices grow tired, and of course, so, so much love.

That love was made evident in Ruben's proposal, which took place on December 23rd, 2023. Ruben’s best friends own the Gondola company (shoutout Gondola Adventures!) in Newport Beach, CA, and therefore, vowed to never propose on a Gondola. However, God obviously had other plans. It was Ruben's birthday, and Lauryn was made to believe that she was the one planning all of the surprises for him! The main surprise: riding a Gondola across the water to look at Christmas lights. The one getting surprised ended up being Lauryn when their beloved Gondolier had a wine bottle float down the water with a beautiful message to her from Ruben, and before she could finish reading it, tears were flooding out of her eyes as she saw the ring in his hand. There’s a continuous joke that Lauryn was too choked up to formally say “yes” (she instead nodded frantically), and therefore hasn’t formally accepted the proposal yet!

They are so excited for their friends and family to celebrate their day with them, and to celebrate how wonderful God has been in their lives. Soulmates exist and Lauryn and Ruben have definitely found each other's!