Our Story
As told from Christine’s perspective…
Our story began in August 2014 when we met at the W hotel but for the sake of word count let’s skip ahead a few months to November 2014 when I invited Daran to join me on a trip to Shanghai, China. He had already planted the idea in my head a couple of weeks earlier and practically had the paperwork filled out for the visa but I take full credit for the ask. I think our family and friends thought we were absolutely nuts. ‘What if you don’t get along’, we were asked. But it didn’t cross my mind and if we didn’t work out my plan B was to fake more ‘work’ meetings.
How crazy could we be if even Bill Murray agrees? You see how someone handles the unknown and adverse situations outside their comfort zone. To us it was the perfect way to start a relationship.
Shanghai was the beginning of many things for us. It’s where we officially committed to each other after a few months of courtship, Daran contracted my travel bug, and at the budding of our relationship we started a travel blog.
He officially got to ‘meet the family’ by braving a Bante Family Trip for my father’s 60th birthday to Ventura, California, although he already had the extreme pleasure of meeting my mother months prior. He also sent flowers over Thanksgiving and my mom could all but contain her excitement at the gesture. I didn’t know I could appreciate anyone so much than when Daran and my brother Joe surfed for hours in 60 degrees water while I laid out on the beach. I couldn’t take the temperature, I couldn’t take the wetsuit and if not for Daran, Joe would have been relentless in his pursuit of a surfing budding, typically being his younger sister.
Our first year together was one of best years of my life for personal growth, attributed mostly to this amazing man. It was filled with nervous butterflies, adventure, creative risks, I learned about photography and that Texas Country was a different music genre than just Country, and he learned that my dog would never be demoted to sleeping on the floor.
Over the next couple of years we would go to eight more countries, countless music concerts and a single home. We not only moved in together, but we worked, side by side in our home office together and still do today. I’ve only ever enjoyed my dog so much and that’s because she sleeps 18 out of 24 hours in a day. How do we survive you ask? Noise-cancelling headphones.
In the summer of 2018 I wanted to take a summer vacation. We booked a trip to Tulum, Mexico in enough time to get SCUBA certified, a goal of mine for YEARS!! I was nervous enough for both of us which was to blame for the delay. Without Daran I’m positive I would have never been certified. But not only did my competitive nature take over when we were checking off areas of competency, he brought a calm and confidence to me that overpowered the emotions, a metaphor of our entire relationship.
Everyone asks if I saw it coming, if I knew he was going to propose. The truth is I didn’t. As silly as one might think it is since we lived together, worked together, we didn’t talk about a proposal or a wedding, we talked about our future and children, our goals and risks. I already knew we would spend our lives together. I guess you could say I had the answer, but until then, I was never asked ‘the question’.
And as you can imagine, I was quite preoccupied thinking of our first open water ocean dive the next day… 40 ft deep, in Mexico, what if I see a shark (ps we did)…that a marriage proposal was the last thing I was thinking of.
Our second day in Tulum, we hired a cab to take us to Nohuch Mul, an ancient Mayan pyramid in the village of Coba. We were some of the first tourists that day to climb atop the pyramid. To be clear the park had warnings of ‘Drone Prohibito’! So when Daran put the drone up I was terrified that he would be arrested so I distanced myself from him in the event I needed to bail him out of jail. Then he asked me ever so sweetly to stand with him as a complete stranger snapped a few pictures.
That’s when Daran started shaking. The hands, the voice, the sweat beads formed. I knew it before he said a word and suddenly breathing was a task. He said a few very romantic things that I can’t possibly remember and then dropped down on one knee and he asked me to marry him, to be his wife. In my mind I thought, ‘don’t reach for it’, ‘not yet’, then after what felt like 5 minutes but in reality was .05 seconds I thought ‘this feels like an appropriate amount of time’ and I reached for that goddamn diamond! It was a moment, a feeling, a place that I wanted to last forever. We sat at the top of that pyramid for an hour letting the moment set in, willing time to stand still.
This is still only the beginning of our story. And with the support and love of our family and friends, help us write another chapter on March 2nd, 2019 in Austin, Texas.
RSVP
Please join us for our wedding on March 2nd, 2019 in Austin, Texas. We look forward to celebrating with you!
FAQ’s
Can I bring a date?
All +1s are noted on your formal invitations.
Are kids welcome?
Per the guest limit at our venue, we will we not be able to have children attend.
What should I wear?
Cocktail attire
Whom should I call with questions?
Please call Christine at (314) 971-0029
