Many people will remember the spring and summer of 2020 as the height of the pandemic, especially considering Arizona was number one in the world for cases per capita for a while... but to Alyssa and John this was the start of their love story.
Alyssa was accepted at Mayo Clinic's Arizona medical school in late March of 2020. Anyone who knows her, knows how much of a planner she is. So it was no surprise that she was eager to start planning this next stage of her life. The lockdown bought her plenty of free time to nail down the big things - where to live, when to move, what to bring, etc. And that's when she decided to download Hinge, a dating app, and set her location to North Scottsdale - to get a bit of a head start on things.
Serendipitously, John, who was attending University of Arizona's medical school in Tucson, had decided to move back up to Phoenix with his parents for a few months since his research gig had been moved online. So on that fateful day in May that Alyssa decided to make her profile, John's location was also set in a similar area.
The two were both shocked and ecstatic to have found another medical student on Hinge - especially since they both ~appeared~ relatively normal on their profiles. John did have to wait about a month for Alyssa to actually physically move to Arizona, but it was worth it.
It would prove to be the first date to end all first dates.
They went to the Phoenix aquarium. John gets an A+ for this one because one of Alyssa's BIGGEST obsessions in life is, in fact, aquarium fish. To wrap up the night, John took Alyssa to Postino - a cute wine bar in Arizona. Another A+ decision since wine is Alyssa's second biggest obsession in life. It will go down as one of the best first dates in history.
They happened to get a picture at the aquarium entrance, and something must have told Alyssa to hold on to it because, along with the housewarming plant John got Alyssa on that same date, they still have it to this day.
It’s impossible to pinpoint the exact moment you fall in love. For us, it probably began on our first date. Undoubtedly, we were on the path to falling in love on our first trip to Sedona. Looking back, the decision to book that trip in the first place was something of a leap of faith in itself. We had known each other for only a few weeks at that point, and we each just had to trust our gut feeling that the other was not, in fact, a serial killer. Fortunately, neither of us revealed any murderous tendencies - at least not yet, and the whole weekend was something out of a fairytale.
Sedona lives up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful places in the country. HIGHLY recommend if you haven’t been! We were both in pretty good shape at the time so we were able to take full advantage of the plethora of breathtaking hikes. We did get caught in a rains storm in the middle of downtown Sedona, but Alyssa managed to be on her best behavior and not let her extreme aversion to bad weather get there best of her. We topped off the trip with a phenomenal wine-tasting kayak tour - something neither of us even knew existed before that trip. That sense of spontaneity and adventurousness is something we’ve continued to try incorporating in our relationship. We’ve since returned to Sedona together a few times, and it will always remind us of one of the most special times in our life. After all, falling in love is a truly indescribably enchanting experience.
The “L” bomb was actually dropped a few weeks after that first Sedona trip, while we were enjoying pizza at home in Phoenix.
The years that have passed since those first few weeks, have seen our relationship grow into something more amazing than either of us could ever have imagined.
John gets a lot of credit for planning a truly magical engagement moment. Although he did have a bit of help from some rather fortunate twists of fate. This string of happy accidents began, somewhat unexpectedly, with an 18 hour flight delay in February of 2021. Alyssa and John had both been able to secure Valentine's day week off from the demands of medical school, and they decided to take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate their first Valentine's day in Waikiki. Unfortunately, when they arrived to the airport for a 7 am flight on February 13th, they discovered that their plane would not be taking off until well after midnight. When all was said and done, it still ended up being a wonderful vacation - with the added benefit of two round trip ticket credits supplied by the apologetic airline.
The stars continued to align when the pair booked their return trip to Hawaii for July of 2022, and roped Alyssa's parents into coming along with them to Maui - obviously quite the big ask. The Grand Wailea was a favorite family vacation spot for the Camargo's - so it was at the top of the must visit list. The booking came along with the added bonus of a hassle-free professional photography session, and everyone agreed this was something they just had to take advantage of.
After a magical day enjoying the resort's fantastic water park, private beach, and on-site kayak rentals, it was time for the photo shoot. Everyone involved did a wonderful job of keeping the secret, and Alyssa had no idea what was happening until about 30 seconds before John got on one knee. Having that special moment of unbridled joy captured is something Alyssa and John will cherish forever.
The cherry on top was revealed a few moments after John put a ring on it, when Alyssa's sister Jenna popped out from behind a palm tree. Jenna had originally not planned on joining the crew in Hawaii due to her demanding schedule - but there was no way she was missing this occasion. Having her whole immediate family there with her to celebrate was incredibly special for Alyssa. Way to go John!