We met in 2016 on a dating app...millennials right?!
Brad's Perspective:
We texted for a bit and started crushing on each other. When the weekend hit, both of our friend groups were planning to go to the same Marina bar so we called it a "date."
I was ordering a drink at the bar and serendipitously stood next to Sandra. My first impression was Sandra's gentle eyes and authentic smile. But I could tell her first impression was "he definitely knew I was standing here..." She didn't like my oversized shirt but I won a second date through my amazing friends.
Sandra's Perspective:
We matched on The League and spent a few days exchanging messages. After a few days Brad asked me if I intended on getting his phone number, and instead of asking him for his, I gave him mine. A few days later, we planned on meeting in person.
On the night we met, I brought my friends Emily and Grace with me for support. Brad was smitten with my smile, yet I was unimpressed with Brad's fashion sense. I was hesitant to see him again, but gave him another chance to take me to dinner.
Dinner went great (besides Brad spilling spaghetti sauce all over himself)!
After a few dates, Sandra finally came around and decided that Brad was the real deal. Since they lived only a few blocks from each other, they spent most days together after work.
When walking home from Sandra's apartment in the freezing cold one night, it hit Brad that he was falling in love. He took Sandra home to meet his parents and Sandra seamlessly meshed with his family. That's what sealed the deal. He knew he had to tell her that he loved her. And he did...that night in their driveway before driving home to SF.
Sandra and Brad have lifelong friends, and lucky for them, their friend groups got along perfectly. They started taking vacations together and it truly felt too good to be true.
Sandra accepted her first nursing job and left the city for Santa Rosa in 2017. This small distance was nothing given she worked 3 days a week, so she headed to the city to stay with Brad on any off days she had. In 2019, she got a new job in Oakland and they both decided it was time to move in together. YAY!
Brad knew it was time to propose and asked Sandra's dad in the Winter of 2020. He knew the style of ring that Sandra wanted, and worked with her best friend, Taryn, to finalize the center stone.
Brad proposed in Big Sur at Treebones Resort and caught Sandra by surprise (she thought he was going to propose a couple times on numerous trips on the coast). He picked out the perfect spot and arranged a secret photographer. Of course, there were a few hiccups along the way, but Brad got down on one knee on March 11th, 2021, and Sandra said yes!