Over the past year and a half, we have grown to be best friends. Because of this, one of life's most important decisions has been one of the easiest to make! We both want to spend the rest of our lives growing in love and friendship, and are excited to see what's in store for our future--together.
How did you meet?
Casey attended the ministry school here in Redding, CA where I was on staff the past four years. During her first year, Casey showed up to a movie night at my apartment with mutual friends. She grew up in the same town as my roommate Marty (best man), so he introduced us. When Casey applied for a second year at the school in February 2011, she landed in a 45-minute interview with me.Who is this Aaron Tesauro guy? He seems pretty cool.
After the interview, Casey left the office thinking "Who is this Aaron Tesauro guy? He seems pretty cool." I enjoyed the conversation throughout the interview, but was in work mode and didn't think about anything beyond assessing her character, responsibility, and eligibility for the program. She was accepted :).
How did you start dating?
When school started that Fall, Casey was in the group of 50 students that I was helping oversee. It didn't take long for me to notice her fun personality, love for life and people, contagious smile and great style! I told my friend Jenna (bridesmaid, wife of groomsman Aaron) to "keep an eye on Casey for me" because I was definitely noticing her and wanted to get to know more about her. I began making an effort to "happen" to be in the area of the building where she normally sat. And I definitely attended any event that I noticed she was attending on Facebook (yes, a little friendly stalking went down). After about two months of hanging out mostly in groups and going to coffee together a couple times, I knew there was something different about this girl. The friendship seemed to happen so naturally and I loved every moment of our time together.I knew there was something different about this girl.
In the first week of January 2012, I asked Casey if she would like to go to dinner with me that week. I could tell there was a sparkle in her eye as she gladly accepted. At dinner, I told her how much I'd been enjoying the friendship, what I felt about her, and that I wanted to continue that process more intentionally. That evening she said "yes" to the beginning.
How did Aaron propose?
We went on a special date each month that we'd been dating, so on December 6, 2012, our 11-month mark, we had planned to go to dinner--but I didn't tell Casey where. That morning she woke up to 11 roses at her house for 11 months. We spent part of the day together then drove about 20 miles out of town to a restaurant at a vineyard we'd been wanting to go to. During the meal, the chef came out and was chatting with us. When he found out we were just dating, he jokingly said "We have a beautiful property here...you should just propose to her tonight!" We all laughed and I played along asking if he had a ring I could use. Little did he know I already had the ring and was asking this beautiful girl to marry me that evening!
After dinner we went outside and caught some of the sunset, then I suggested that we go check out a little chapel higher up on the property. As we walked up to the outdoor bell tower outside the chapel, I had Casey close her eyes as I led her inside. I flipped a power switch and she opened her eyes to this little bell tower with white lights wrapped all over it. Now, up until this point I had been playing it really cool - nothing out of the ordinary. But when I got to that moment, the moment just before asking her to make the biggest decision of her life, I froze. All those sweet things that I had prepared to say - the semi-speech that should accompany such a great question - was gone. I hugged her and we looked out over the vineyard into the fading sunset as I stalled. Finally, I told her "The last 11 months have been incredible growing in love with you. I want to spend the next 11 months, 11 years, and every year after that with you." I knelt down on one knee and picked up a single red rose that was on the ground (the 12th rose). She could see that the rose sparkled a bit more than normal, and raising the rose with the ring inside, I asked her to marry me. The first words out of Casey's mouth? "Shut. Up." followed quickly by an excited "Yes!"
A couple of our favorite songs played after that and we got to enjoy such a sweet moment together as we hugged and danced under the white lights. Then I called out my accomplices of the evening Rachel (maid of honor) and Marty. They did an incredible job setting up the place better than I had imagined it! As we were hugging and talking with each other, the whole tower started to reverberate as the bells began to ring above us. What a surreal moment it was as we stood there, engaged to be married, feeling the wedding bells ring all around us like they were announcing to the world our union. It was an evening we'll never forget. The evening when the love of my life said "yes" to forever....the love of my life said 'yes' to forever.