As many of you know, Sara loves the spotlight and would have liked nothing more than to have been proposed to at half time during a Lakers playoff game. All 20,000 fans in Staples Center cheering us on through the jumbo-tron, and then the ghost of Kobe descends on us to give us his blessing… oh wait, that’s how I wanted to be proposed too…

Sara on the other hand always wanted a more intimate setting, no bright lights and definitely not thousands of eyes on us. I knew this from the beginning, so figuring out how to get both of us out of our pajamas and into an intimate setting all the while catching the entire thing on camera was the challenge at hand. Luckily for me, our good family friend had given me the perfect set up, that actually started years prior.

Jericho had been floating the idea of using Sara and I in a photography/film project he was working on. It was probably around 2017 when he first brought it up, and asked if we would be interested. We said we’d love to help, but our schedules didn’t line up and it eventually got “lost in the sauce” if you will. I think we tried linking up a couple more times in the following years, but no dice. One day, it clicked for me to use this project/idea of Jericho’s as the set up for the proposal, and I reached out to him.

I remember meeting up with him in Claremont, and pitching my idea to him. It was some real grass roots stuff, sketching ideas and positioning down on napkins outside of Dr. Grubbs. Luckily for us, Jericho was down to help and those napkin drawings became PowerPoint slides and we continued to plan via email. Now that the “what” was in place, the last details to iron out were the “when” and the “where." We decided on August 28th, right before an upcoming work trip and Sara’s 30th birthday. As for “where," we landed on doing it inside of our new home that we had just moved into. I know that some engagements happen abroad or at spectacular locations, but I knew asking Sara to be my wife in the little home we created together would be just as special (and also kept the 20,000 Laker fans at bay). With that, Jericho texted us and asked us one last time if we wanted to be a part of his project and we said yes.

Come the big day, I knew that Sara had no idea what was coming her way. She even scheduled some errands right before the time Jericho had told us he was coming. I was so nervous I totally forgot to iron my shirt. Sara was so oblivious she didn’t even put shoes on. It was absolutely perfect. Jericho explained the prompt to us, and it was simple. We would take turns listening to the other speak of what they truly admire and love about us. The camera would capture raw emotion and reaction to hearing your partner bare all. We put Sara up first, and so she stood behind me as I stared (awkwardly but lovingly) into Jericho’s camera lens. To be completely honest, I know we said she hates being put on the spot, but she absolutely killed it. Without any preparation or knowledge of the prompt, in one take she gave an amazing monologue detailing intimate parts of why she loved me and adored me – even sneaking in some well-placed jokes! Jericho absolutely nailed the shots, as he got really great high definition pictures of all my pimples and moles reacting to Sara’s love.

Now the part where my heart is in my throat, and my hands start to sweat Mr90 style (oh!). At this time the ring box is stashed away in a super-secret, secure, and foolproof hiding spot- underneath some towels below the bathroom sink. The plan was to use the bathroom before we switched, but Sara’s world famous tiny bladder beat me to the punch. Let me tell you, that that 45 second pee had Jericho and I panicking. I finally get in there and recover the ring, stash in my back pocket, and say a little prayer. I walked out and got ready for the main event. Now, I’ll spare you the details of what I said, but let’s just say even for someone like me that talks a lot, hearing myself go for 15+ minutes straight sounds insane. But in the moment, I had so much I wanted to say… so much I wanted to exclaim to the world (via Jericho’s iPhone recording in the distance) about my feelings for this woman.

Sure, there’s a video out there somewhere that you can find, but in short I just wanted to remind her of all the things she already knew. I let her know how much I appreciated what she does for this family, and the sacrifice she’s made with our future in mind. I told her how much I absolutely look forward to the 19 Tik Tok’s I have waiting for me every morning. I forgave her for liking La La Land more than The Greatest Showman. I told her that I notice and adore that before she falls asleep at night, her foot wanders around the maze that is the sheets and has to find my leg. Only after this physical touch brings us together, can she finally find rest for the night, and I absolutely love that. I told her that she is one of the only people on this Earth that can continue to push me to grow and admit that I don’t actually know it all. I thanked her for throwing herself into this world of friends and family that is my culture and background, even if it isn’t always easy. I told her that I know she gets the worst parts of me, especially when it seems that everyone else gets the best version of me, and most importantly that I appreciate and am forever grateful that she loves me the most when I deserve it the least.

At this point, she’s stone cold not a single tear on her face….yet. I think she’s mostly surprised thinking that I just came up with all of that on the spot. I drop to one knee and she finally realizes what’s going on. Then, and only then do I get the single thug tear out of her to prove that she does love me back (jk, I know she loves me). I ask Her Grace for her hand in marriage, and by saying yes she made me the luckiest man in the world.