Our story begins all the way back in October of 2021. I was a burnt out first year teacher who hadn't taken a single day off and was working on the weekends to keep up. When my family was invited to Nancy Grandquist's 70th birthday party in sunny California, my mother insisted I take a Friday off so we could explore San Francisco that weekend. At the party on Saturday night, I was captivated by the beautiful florals, stunning decorations and the gorgeous weather. I casually made a comment to the lady next to me about the flowers and she humbly thanked me, responding, “I helped do them.” Our conversation was brief until she found me later that evening to ask if I was seeing anyone. I nervously said no and explained that I was drowning in starting my new career at the moment. She immediately responded with, “You should meet my son.” 
I had encountered a couple mothers like this before. The son was usually a fully grown man, living in the basement, unemployed, with zero direction in life with an exhausted mom who wanted him out of the house. I tried to politely give another excuse about work until she showed me a picture of Nathan. I quickly changed my tune as she bragged about him being in his final year of architecture school. Cute, smart and driven? By the end of the conversion, I had given her the green light saying I wouldn't mind meeting her son one day. We took a photo together and went our separate ways.

Thus began two years of nothing. Zero contact. I was fully convinced he wasn't interested, questioning if I even wanted to do long distance, and then I finally accepted the closed door. I did follow Nathan’s sisters on Instagram, but I was of the firm mindset: I was NOT going to make the first move. 
I moved on. I went on dates. I was a bridesmaid 3 times in 2023 and was finally feeling a real urge to be more serious about dating. I had never had a boyfriend before, and finally felt like I was in a good place to give it a real try. I was surprised when Nathan followed me on Instagram, but still, everything remained the same. 


In October of 2023, I had gotten tickets for the first ever PK Tribe conference hosted in Dallas. I had requested days off from work and was going to meet up with long time family friends there. Sydnee and I were excited to attend the evening services together as she came straight from clinicals. I got a notification days before the event that my personal days were denied and that I wouldn't have a sub. My mom mentioned to me that the Guisande’s would be there and that Sydnee and I should make them feel welcome. Little did I know that both of the Ginas were scheming behind the scenes. 


On the first night of Tribe, I rushed in coming straight from work and sat with my friends next to the sound booth. I looked to my right and there was Nathan, being a camera operator for the livestream. We essentially sat right next to each other the whole service, but never spoke. I had to leave fairly quickly since I had to work the next day. I was able to introduce myself to Olivia, Nathan’s sister, on my way out. 


Night two of Tribe, Sydnee got to join me and we sat in the exact same spot I did the night before. I was hopeful that Nathan would be at the camera again, but he was sitting in a completely different section. At the end of service, we were able to meet lots of new people and I happened to maneuver Sydnee and I towards Olivia so I could introduce them to each other. I think this gave Nathan the confidence to make his way over to us. My sister Sydnee, the ultimate wingwoman, effortlessly turned to Nathan and looped him into the conversation with her Texas sized personality, “You must be the brother.” We chatted as a group for the rest of the evening. I went back to my friends absolutely on cloud nine and was looking for any excuse to talk to him again that evening. During Tribe Wars, he kept coming over to talk to me. I kept hoping he would maybe ask for my number or make a move, but we politely parted ways and I drove home. 


As the hours apart ticked by, my resolution to never make the first move began to crumble into pieces. When Nathan posted a selfie of himself and Olivia on his Instagram story that they were flying home, I casually swiped up and messaged, “So glad we got to meet y’all!”


Thus began the messaging on instagram. I would type novels and Nathan did his best to keep up with my ramblings. The DMs turned into texts, then transformed into 4 hour phone calls and facetimes that felt like mere minutes in the grand scheme of time. We messaged non stop until Nathan presented the idea to fly to Texas and take me on a proper date in January, the weekend after Because of the Times. I remember being so incredibly anxious and could barely eat the entire week leading up to his arrival. I picked him up from the airport on Friday, January 19th and took him to coffee, then barbeque, and ended the night with an In and Out milkshake. I probably talked non stop all evening long, all while Nathan was looking with his big brown eyes. He attended Northgate for the first time and handled all the interrogations like a champ. Before he flew home, we killed some time walking around the Perot Museum and then we went to the top of the Reunion Tower. I remember telling Nathan, “I feel like I’ve known you my whole life” after a whole weekend of all kinds of discussions. Deep conversion, silly jokes, random questions; there was nothing that wasn't on the table. We agreed we definitely wanted to continue to date and we scheduled the next time I could fly out to California at the end of February. I dropped him off at the airport and immediately missed him. 



Making it Official:

Little did I know, as soon as Nathan got home, he was strategizing how he could get back to Texas. He switched around a return flight from New York to surprise me on February 10th. The night before he was set to arrive, I had the worst stomach bug of my whole life and spent the whole night sick. Poor Nathan landed in Texas to Sydnee giving him the news that I had been throwing up all night. Nathan assured her that it didn't matter and that he would help take care of me that weekend, while still pulling off the surprise. 
My mother ordered a mobile IV to my apartment to rehydrate me and I slept for 4 hours straight. I woke up, showered, and called Sydnee to ask for some chicken noodle soup. She snuck Nathan into my apartment with flowers and gatorade while I changed out of my pjs. I walked out of my room completely shocked and surprised. Nathan ended up being the medicine I needed as we spent the evening sitting on the couch and talking about his New York trip, watched movies, and ate crackers on my weak stomach. He had planned tickets to a symphony, reservations at a fancy restaurant, and had brought a gift to ask me to be his girlfriend. All the plans were turned upside down, but the evening was just perfect. Nathan got me a journal and had pasted flowers and pictures of our relationship so far. The last page read “The Day I Ask You to be my Girlfriend”. Nathan couldn't even get the question out before I responded with a, “YES!”

We then had a regular schedule of seeing each other every month. We would alternate who bought plane tickets so that we could maintain the frequency of visits. We had so many adventures in Texas and in California and cherished every moment we got to spend together. We are very grateful for Facetime that kept us connected, even when we were apart.

The Proposal:


Nathan had bought me tickets to NYC for Broadway week back in June for my birthday. I was so surprised and was totally okay with waiting a couple months to enjoy my favorite city with my favorite guy. I handpicked the shows and Nathan planned the best architecture features we could see. I knew he had planned a carriage ride throughout Central park for Friday afternoon so I was a bit suspicious this is where he might pop the question. When the carriage ride ended with nothing, I figured it wasn't happening that day afterall. We decided to head back to the hotel and warm up and pick up Sydnee from the hotel where she had been working on modules for her job. Or so I thought. Right before we went into the hotel, Sydnee called me to say she had walked over to the library to meet a friend. We have lots of friends from high school who live in the city so I didn't think anything of it. She said she was over at the New York Public Library right next to our hotel. I asked if Nathan and I could come over, blissfully unaware that I was walking into my dream proposal. 
We wandered around the library aimlessly, I showed Nathan and Sydnee around all the artifacts in the exhibit and even brought them upstairs to the main reading room. After seeing everything, I asked if the group was hungry and plugged in a lunch spot nearby into my phone. Nathan stalled me on the way out taking selfies next to the columns and staircases, while Sydnee made a Beeline out the door. I exited the library trying to navigate and Nathan pulled my hand to the right where I saw rose petals and a book with our faces on it. I was in complete shock. The book contained a letter from Nathan, photos of all of our adventures inside, with love notes and sweet memories. I could barely read the first sentence when my knees began to shake and my heart began to race. Nathan immediately got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. I was patient this time and let him get the question out before saying a resounding “YES!”


Nathan had hired the kindest photographer who captured the magical moment. After our session was over, we went to Little Italy where my parents and his parents surprised me. I had no idea. I was so overwhelmed by the love I felt and the joy that was so tangible of two families coming together. 


We are so grateful for every chapter of our love story, and we cannot wait to finally end the long distance this summer and begin the story of the rest of our lives.