1. We met in college. Both of us were in the choir - cliche, I know. Though we didn't talk until half way through the first year. We were friends throughout college and when we went on trips promoting the school, we roomed together. There was definitely chemistry from the start but we were both too shy to make a move. It wasn't until the summer after we graduated and when Derek moved into a big Victorian home with me and 4 other people, that we gradually become more close. In fact, it took Derek's interest in another boy on the dance floor at a club, for me to initiate the relationship. I told him I had feelings for him. He said he felt the same way. Finally! We usually mark the start of our relationship that night. For the better part of two more years we lived in that Victorian house with a revolving door of roommates - and other stories involving the crazy landlord - until we decided to move out on our own. And the rest is history, though it took another 8+ years to get engaged.

Our friend's family owns a beautiful cabin up in Big Bear Lake, California. We were invited for a late-spring weekend getaway to stay with some friends there. I (Nathan) had been pondering popping the question for quite some time. And we had had recurring conversations over the years on how, when, and if we were going to get married. We had been together for the better part of a decade and our parents treated each of us like their own children, so it was getting time to make if official. Though, half the time we were together, gay marriage wasn't even legal, which played its own role in the delay of our engagement. We arrived in the mountains and I had scoped out some beautiful engagement locations before we went. A few of our friends volunteered to drive up early to scope them out along with restaurant locations. We spent a few days at the cabin and finally the day came and I told Derek that we were all going to take pictures down on the boardwalk of a dry lake bed. If you knew Derek and me, you'd know that impromptu photo shoots are not out of the ordinary on our trip itineraries. My friend slipped the engagement ring in her purse and I encouraged Derek to "dress up for dinner." We all ventured down to the boardwalk with Derek totally unassuming. My other friend had volunteered to drive up the mountain for the day to snap photos and she was waiting behind a wooden structure for us to arrive. We got out of the car and started walking down the boardwalk, enjoying the scenery. Gradually our friends began to pull back and my friend slipped the ring into my hand. Derek and I came to an opening on the boardwalk and when he turned around I was on my knee. Our friend popped out of the bushes snapping pics and Derek began to tear up. I popped the question and slipped the ring on his finger. It was such a great experience being surrounded by your friends and with it caught on film. We ended the evening with an engagement photo shoot and dinner at the restaurant our friends scoped out.

In addition to living together after college, we both got a job at the same nonprofit organization, which serves low-income youth in Orange County. This sparked our interest in giving back to worthy causes. That, partnered with a love of sustainability, good cooking and nature led us to inquire with The Ecology Center about hosting our wedding. It is a beautiful working farm that uses sustainable methods to grow and maintain its land. While not a traditional wedding venue, The Ecology Center agreed to host a private dinner event for us. They gathered most of the ingredients from the farm itself, purchased locally-sourced liquor, flowers came from the grounds, etc. It was a beautiful outdoor, strolling dinner next to the oldest farmhouse in San Juan Capistrano. The weather had been overcast and cold for a month solid, but the day of the wedding, the skies opened up and the sun came out. It was as if the world was supporting our day. The day after, the fog settled back in.

Wedding Venue: Reata Park & Event Center (San Juan Capistrano, CA)
Wedding Reception: The Ecology Center (San Juan Capistrano, CA)