Eli and I are celebrating our four year wedding anniversary today! Since it is our anniversary I thought I would tell you all the story of how we met and fell in love.

It was October of 2009 when I saw Eli for the first time. He was on stage performing and I was in the audience with my sister. That night on stage Eli sang with his angel voice and then told his testimony. I vividly remember telling my sister that night that I wanted to marry a guy like that. From that show on I developed a crush. I dragged my sister to every concert I knew he was playing in or attending at. (Yes, I know I sound like a stalker but I promise I am not. Just really passionate about a lead guitarist in a band. Let’s think of me more like a groupie)

After two months of going to shows every week and hoping he would notice me he did not, so I told myself to move on. However, I still attended the shows and kept seeing him around since my friends and I loved going to the local concerts.

Photo credit: Emma Quinn

In December of 2009, I went to a concert in a little white church. I went to support my friend in another band and had no idea that Eli would be there. I did not think much of him during that show since I had thought it was not meant to be and moved on from my crush. However, that night Eli’s best friend, Josh Eccles introduced us. We hit it off right off the bat. We talked for about an hour after the show and then he asked me to go to in-n-out. I sadly had an early college class the next day and had to say goodbye earlier than I wanted to instead of going to in-n-out. However, that did not stop us from talking. We wrote on facebook constantly for about a week before he asked me out on our first date.

For our first date, we went to Yogurt Farms (where I was working at the time) and we talked for hours. After that, we went to the Broken FM radio station where he was djing with Josh and I watched them DJ for a couple hours.

To be honest, after the first date I was not quite sure it would work out. He talked a ton and I was not able to get a word in. I still really loved his heart (and thought he was super handsome) so I decided to go on a second date. On the second date, we went to Starbucks and talked for about 6 hours straight. In which, we shared our hearts and passions in life. I knew from that moment on that this was the guy I was going to fall in love with fast. We went on dates every week for months but officially started dating February 2010.

On a side note, if you know Eli and I, you know he can never get a word in since I am the one that talks a lot. So the story of our first date is truly funny.

Eli and I dated for about three years before we got engaged. We got engaged at Rodeo beach exactly where we did this anniversary photo session.

On July 10th he planned a date day for us in the city. I was wearing leggings and a sweater before my mom encouraged me to change into a dress and curl my hair. I thought nothing of that and went with it.I had no idea Eli was going to propose to me on the day that he did. He was about to leave on tour with his band so I assumed if he was going to propose it was going to be months away.

As soon as I saw Eli I noticed he was super dressed up (which he hates) so I knew something was up. Then I hugged him and immediately could feel the ring box hit my chest as we hugged. I texted my friends like crazy in the car ride saying this is it. I was so excited and nervous. I just did not want it to happen in front of a ton of people in SF as I am not the one that likes a ton of attention. He told me we had to go to this one spot and assured me it would be worth it.

When we got to that spot we could not find parking and it was so crowded. I could tell he was super nervous so I told him the beach would be a great spot for a walk (acting like I did not know what was happening). When we got down to the beach there was no one there as it was cold & cloudy. We walked on the little bridge and as soon as we got to the end he asked to marry me. I saw he picked out the perfect ring for me and just about flipped. My heart was full of joy knowing I was going to marry the man of my dreams.

All I remember after that was looking at my ring, posting a picture on Instagram and just about calling everyone I know to tell them I am engaged. Eli, that day in the city, kept on yelling I am marring this girl and this girl is my fiance really loud. He knows I get embarrassed easily so he half did it just for that reasoning alone but I still loved that he was super excited too.

My favorite memory from that day was getting our picture taken by a homeless man flying a kite. I gave him my film camera and let him know to take a couple of pictures. This is my favorite memory because it was just us at the proposal. No cameras, no big to do just us. In a world full of business it was nice to have that memory be intimate.

Eli and I have been together for 8 years now and it truly has been a beautiful journey. We have had some amazing experiences and some really hard ones as well. I wish I could say life is all roses but truth be told marriage is hard work. Even though life can get hard at times and marriage can be a lot of work it is also a wonderful gift from God. Eli has cared for me after surgeries and in the hospital. He has made sure I laugh even when I want to cry and has held my hand every time I am afraid of whats next in my health journey. He literally is my best friend and awakes me each morning with saying I love you. He challenges me to rest and take in each moment of the day instead of worry about the future & keep busy. He truly is my favorite person in this world and I am so grateful for him. Happy anniversary babe!