Hi friends, and welcome back!
I’ve been so excited to share this little series with you—our story of how we met, what really happened during our engagement, and some of our thoughts on marriage. One of our team members came up with a set of fun interview questions, and today it’s my turn to tell the story from my perspective. Tomorrow, you’ll hear from Pedro himself.
Thank you so much for being patient while we’ve held onto this—we wanted to make sure all of our family and closest friends knew before sharing it here. Now that they’re all in the loop, let’s dive in.
How We Met
Two and a half years ago, I met Pedro—who many of you know as mi amor from my Instagram captions. At the time, I was over the dating scene in West Palm Beach and felt like I had exhausted all my options. So I decided to try something different: I opened up Bumble, widened my location settings, and matched with Pedro in Miami.
For most people, a one-hour drive might feel inconvenient, but I’ve always been independent and adventurous, so meeting someone outside my city didn’t faze me. Our first date was at Panther Coffee in Wynwood. I went in expecting a quick 20-minute chat over lattes. Instead, we ended up talking for hours. The conversation flowed so naturally, and by the time I got home, he was already texting to ask when we could meet again.
The Moment I Knew
There wasn’t one dramatic, cinematic moment when I realized Pedro was “the one.” Instead, it was this slow, beautiful unfolding. For the first time in a long while, I felt complete peace when I was with him. Whether it was laying my head on his chest at night, hearing him say “I love you” for the first time, or dreaming together about the future, it all just felt right.
Our First “I Love You”
This part of the story still makes me smile. Pedro is very much a morning person—he loves to wake up early, sip coffee, watch the news, and get a jump on work. I’m the complete opposite. I come alive at night and love working into the late hours.
One morning, I woke up overwhelmed with stress from work and found myself crying. Without hesitation, Pedro—already dressed for work—climbed back into bed, held me, and quietly said, “I love you… you know that?” There I was, with messy hair, no makeup, and morning breath, but hearing those words at my most vulnerable meant everything. I said it back, and suddenly all my fears melted away.
The Proposal (and All Its Twists)
Now for the fun part—our engagement!
We were staying at Le Sirenuse in Positano, and I had no idea Pedro had been secretly orchestrating this entire plan. Looking back, the clues were there. At breakfast one morning, he nervously downed two Bellinis before 10 a.m. (very out of character for him). Later that day, we joined a boat ride with a couple of other guests. More Bellinis appeared, and he eagerly accepted—again, very unusual.
Meanwhile, I started feeling seasick—something I had never experienced before despite growing up around boats. For most of the ride, I was either leaning over the side trying not to get sick or napping to keep the nausea at bay. Poor Pedro was left to sip his drinks in silence, probably worrying his carefully planned proposal was slipping away.
Back on land, I told him I needed to rest, but he was glued to his phone—strange, since he doesn’t even use social media. I teased him, jokingly asking if he was texting a girlfriend back home. Little did I know, he was coordinating with someone very important.
That evening, he told me we had to be at the beach by 5 p.m. to take photos. I reminded him the sun didn’t set until 7, but he insisted. Then, when he asked me to help pick out his outfit, I knew something was up—this is a man who usually couldn’t care less about clothes.
Sure enough, when we walked down to the beach, he suddenly darted over to a red-haired woman with a professional camera. It turns out this was the mysterious person he’d been texting all day—our photographer, who had flown in from Venice to capture the proposal.
He asked her to take our photo, and as soon as she raised the camera, he got down on one knee. In true Pedro fashion, the ring box got stuck in his jacket, and when it finally came out, it was upside down. I was already crying, knowing exactly what was happening, and when he asked me to marry him, all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat.
The entire beach erupted into cheers and applause. Meanwhile, I could barely see through my tears. The photographer captured every second, and afterward, we celebrated with a romantic dinner at La Sponda, champagne in hand. Not long after, Pedro—exhausted from nerves and Bellinis—fell fast asleep back at the hotel. And just like that, our engagement began.
Looking Back
When I think about that day, what stands out isn’t the hiccups or the upside-down ring box—it’s how much heart Pedro put into making it special. He knows me so well, down to arranging a hidden photographer because he knew I’d want the memories captured forever.
And that’s us in a nutshell: imperfect, a little funny, and full of love.
Our story is still unfolding, but I’ll never forget the day Positano gave us the most beautiful beginning to this next chapter.
