Tess had been putting up with my shenanigans for 10 years so i knew I had to make the proposal a big deal - if not for her, for me at least!
With our love to travel I always knew I wanted to do it some place far from home. Thankfully, residency gave me the opportunity to work in Africa for a few weeks with the last one for exploration. It was the perfect chance to plan a safari with Tess and my proposal to her.
It was the second day of our safari, and I had scheduled a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the Masai Mara (aka the Serengeti Plains of Kenya).
As the first rays of sunlight emerged above the horizon, I asked a young British couple to snap a quick photo of us. In that moment I kneeled down and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. Before I could finish the words “will you..” she interjected with “YES!”.
Like many great love stories, Jimmy and I were friends before we started dating. It will have been exactly 10 years come our wedding as we first met at the end of our junior year in Tucson, April of 2010, at the University of Arizona.
And unlike many great love stories... it was not necessarily ‘love at first sight’. On the contrary, the night I met this guy, Jimmy MacKenzie, I was bewildered! He was loud, proud, and not as funny as he thought despite what so many shared about him (love you, honey!). Despite my reservations, we were both inducted to the same club, Bobcats, and forced friendship was upon us.
Fortunately, I quickly found we were quite compatible. We spent months as friends enjoying all the collegiate events and sports games, attempting to over-achieve in and out of the classroom (him mostly), and being complete nerds quoting Indiana Jones. As senior year flew by, the flirting amassed and finally we realized the spark was undeniable.
It was March 2011 and our senior class (40+ of us!) decided to live up our last spring break with a cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. At each port we both craved adventure and broke away from the crew to explore the towns. In Ensenada, we were so caught up that we nearly missed the final call to board the ship! Thankfully with margaritas for fuel and a swift sprint, we made it back just in time.
Fate would have it that when we weren’t looking for it — young love caught us both. Our passion for the UA introduced us and our adventurous spirits sealed what we knew all along.
Thankfully, Jimmy was accepted to medical school in Phoenix where I took my first job out of college and its been an adventure ever since.
I mean what else is there to say? This little chunk stole our hearts and sanity the moment we brought him home 9.27.19. Our house just gets sillier, furrier and happier by the second.
Can’t even count at this point but every wedding reminds us how fortunate we are to have so many wonderful friends with beautiful love stories. Many of these couples will be at our wedding - cheers to you!!
Whether we are being goofballs, cracking jokes or making fun of each other its always in good faith and a dose of love.
One of my favorite things about Jimmy is his unwavering passion to give back. Not a year can go by before he is itching to take his medical experience to a community that needs it most. He has been all of over the world — Bolivia, Peru, Nepal and the Dominican Republic to name a few.
Our engagement story is only in Kenya because of the philanthropic time he spent working at the Kijabe hospital there. It was beyond fulfilling and has us both looking for our next opportunity to volunteer abroad - together.
Taken from our engagement photos, this gorgeous atrium resides in one of Baltimore’s finest hotels in Fells Point. We love taking guests here to see the hotel’s view of the harbor and lush garden atrium. The cocktails are great, too!
They might not have won the World Cup but the Brazilians surely knew how to celebrate. Seeing the country turn inside out for their team was once-in-a-lifetime. An amazing adventure that took us through the Amazon, to remote beaches and cities with energy all night long.
Baltimore carries so many milestones for us. Our first home! Our engagement. Our first baby (fur-baby). Our first time moving. They call Baltimore “Charm City” and we couldn’t agree more.
Honestly, had to share this story just for the pic. He is such a cheese-ball!! How can you not love this face?