As most love stories begin these days, our story began on a dating app. As the entire city was vying for the attention of Jenny, somehow Keegan slipped through as she accidentally swiped right. Surprised by the opportunity, but eager to capitalize on Jenny's mistake, Keegan reached out immediately to begin the courtship...and our story took shape.
In the midst of a global pandemic, we had our first "official" date on June 15, 2020 via FaceTime. Jenny was staying back at her family's house during the early days of COVID and joined FaceTime from her childhood room...let me paint the picture, PINK EVERYWHERE! Although we both jumped on the call a little nervous, we talked effortlessly for hours and discussed future dates we'd go on, confident in the connection we had. These included: Santa Barbara on our 5th date to visit Jenny's college town (Go Gauchos), and Hawaii on our 10th date since Jenny had never been.
On June 27th, 2020 we got together in Little Italy for our first date! Leading up to the momentous occasion, Jenny nearly cancelled...I just found this out, thankfully she didn't! Keegan showed up at Jenny's apartment looking like he had just run a marathon, sweating profusely he was so nervous. Again, the connection was undeniable as we talked for hours, shared just a few drinks, and ended the night excited for what the future would hold. I also just found out that during our first date, Jenny had texted her roommate, "BEST FIRST DATE EVER" (I'm blushing). Keegan had planned to come down the following Thursday for our next date, but at the last minute asked Jenny if she wanted to come up to Carlsbad instead because he had family & friends in town for the 4th of July...to his surprise, Jenny agreed! That night, Jenny met some of my closest friends and my pseudo-sister Maria...they loved her and when Jenny left that night they said, "don't screw this up"!! Keegan wasn't going to screw it up, and invited Jenny back on the 4th of July for the Tommy Time Beer Olympics, she excelled in all but one game, we won't talk about that...but there is a picture to memorialize it. It was a great night, Jenny & Keegan were a perfect fit!
If you've been counting, we're on 3 dates...and that next week we got together at a San Diego staple, The Crack Shack to celebrate our 4th date. Now I bet you're all wondering, would they actually go to Santa Barbara on their 5th date, two complete strangers....the answer is (drumroll please), YES!!!!!! Jenny was so excited to show Keegan around Santa Barbara, but first, we had to stop at Freebirds. If you haven't been, it's basically a little college town Chipotle, BUT HAS THE BEST NACHOS IN THE WORLD HANDS DOWN!! If you don't believe us, go try it and report back, you won't be disappointed.
Anyways, the rest is history...we started dating officially on July 31, 2020 and moved in together in November. We welcomed Layla into our family in March 2021, and went to Hawaii on our 179th date in July 2021 for our anniversary...I later learned Jenny thought I might propose in Hawaii, but I had something even better up my sleeve.
Taking a step back here, in August 2020 only a few weeks after we had started dating, Jenny was planning a trip with her family to Monterey Car Week for the following year and we talked casually about Keegan joining them on the trip, as he grew up a car enthusiast inspired by his father's (born in the Motor City) passion for cars. Fast forward to August 2021, after getting back from Hawaii, we went on the trip to Monterey Car Week we had planned over a year before. Jenny, Keegan, & Mike (Jenny's Dad) went up a few days early and while Jenny was out one morning, Keegan asked Mike the all important question, would he entrust me with his daughter's hand in marriage...he couldn't be happier. The next few days Keegan was a nervous wreck, and nearly selected Friday the 13th as the day (until Ryan reminded him of the curse), but enlisted the help of the entire Augst family to help with the surprise engagement. On the morning of August 14, 2021, we told Jenny to get ready to take some family photos out at the beach (she was pleasantly surprised, but didn't turn down an opportunity for a family photo op), Mike went to the finest wine store in Moss Landing (Moe's Liquor Store) to get champagne, Ryan & Cindy were in charge of photography, and Andrew carried the ring so Jenny wouldn't notice in Keegan's pocket. As we approached the beach, Keegan located the largest kelp pile and got down on a knee, too nervous to notice the unsightly prop he had just knelt next to. Although Jenny says she blacked out during his proposal, she came to just in time to say "YES, OH MY GOD"!! It was truly a special weekend and ended on the highest of notes!
The next 9 months were a whirlwind of wedding planning and traveling, but here we are!! We can't wait to celebrate with all our loved ones!