Q. Where did you both grow up?
We both grew up in Houston!
Q. What are your chosen professions?
I am a registered nurse and Will is a software engineering manager.
Q. How did you meet?
We met the summer going into our senior year of high school through my best friend. Dated all through our senior year, broke up for college but still remained very close, and started dating again after college.
Q. Tell me about the proposal?
Will totally surprised me! We were in Aspen for a week and the trip was originally planned because Will’s Fantasy League was doing their draft in person. Luckily, the draft was done the first night we were in Aspen so I planned out the rest of the week for us. I am very type A when it comes to trips so I had every detail/activity/dinner reservation planned out for the whole week. It crossed my mind that he could propose but I quickly talked myself out of it because I knew if he tried to pull any stunt I would know immediately. But he managed to wrangle in a very close couple friend of ours who happen to be in Aspen the same week… he told the girl to text me asking if we wanted to meet for drinks in the park before we went our separate ways to dinner (which we do all the time in San Francisco so I didn’t think twice about it) and I told her that we would love to. When we got to the park, she texted me and said her and her fiance were “running late” so we walked around this park while we waited for them and when he got me to “the spot” he got down on one knee and I was shocked! It was so fun and perfect and we then got to go around downtown Aspen with a photographer to take some more pictures :). Oh and our friends were never actually planning to meet us in the park, ha!
Q. What are a few places that are special to you. This could be a vacation, a local hiking spot, where you met, something you enjoy doing together locally, etc. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; just someplace you have made memories together.
Aspen is very special to us since we got engaged there. San Francisco is where we have lived for the last 3 years so it also holds a very special place in our hearts. We love live music and some of our favorite concerts we have seen together are Gary Clark Jr, Jack Johnson, The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison. We love going on long walks with our dog in the mornings. We also both love trying new restaurants, whatever the new hot spot is! And we always over order because we have to try just about everything on the menu. Both our parents have lake houses (Leigh’s on Lake LBJ and Will’s on Lake McQueeney) so both of those places are extremely special to us as well.
Q. When you can do anything you want to do, what do you do? i.e. what are your hobbies, what do you like to do in your leisure time, what makes you happy when you are spending time together?
Will loves to golf, so you can usually find him on a course or at the range. He also loves to play the piano and I love listening to him play! I love to run and go on walks. I also love to cook. We both love to go north of San Francisco and hike. We’re always looking for a new show to watch together. We love hosting people at our apartment for dinner, hanging out, trying new cocktail recipes, etc.
Q. What is your favorite music and/or songs that mean the most to you as a couple? Any special concerts you attended together? A playlist of sorts would be great! And any stories are great too!
We love listening to Jack Johnson together, especially on lazy Saturday and Sunday mornings! We also love Van Morrison, we listened to him all through our senior year of high school while we dated. Our first dance will most likely be to one of his songs, still trying to decide which one though.
Q. What are your favorite foods/restaurants? Are either of you into cooking at home?
We LOVE going out to eat! We would have to split this question up between our favorite San Francisco restaurants and Houston restaurants. San Francisco Favorites: State Bird Provisions, Nopa, Tacko, Souvla, Tony’s, Delarosa, Mamanoko. Houston Favorites: Goode Co Seafood (usually our first stop after getting picked up from the airport), Local Foods, Central Market for lunch, Escalante’s, Prego (where we had spent our first valentine’s day together in high school!), MF Sushi. So many more but have to stop somewhere! We also have some Austin favorites… Perla’s, Clark’s, ATX Cocina, Josephine house, Matt’s El Rancho, Juiceland, Thai Fresh and Will’s favorite from his college days at UT is Sushi Nichii, ha!
Q. Any kids or pets? Tell me about them!
YES! Our dog, Cosmo. He is a 7-month-old golden retriever that yes, is a COVID puppy. But he is the absolute best little rascal and we are crazy obsessed with him!
Q. What do you love most about your partner?
Leigh: I love that Will keeps me grounded! He doesn’t get caught up in drama/gossip which helps me steer away from those things. I love his sense of humor. It’s very dry and it always makes me laugh. I also love when he finds a new hobby. He puts so much time and effort into new things he likes and it is inspiring! Will: I love Leigh’s genuine care for our friends and family. I love that Leigh has resolve in sticking to a healthy day to day schedule (cooking, working out, etc) and is always planning for our future together. I love that these and many other qualities that Leigh possesses have made and will continue to make me a better person throughout the rest of our lives together.
Q. What are each of your favorite drinks when you are celebrating? Craft beer, wines, cocktails, bubbly, or a mocktail?
His: A mezcal or gin cocktail! Hers: Champagne for sure!
Q. What are your favorites drinks for Sunday mornings? Special herbal teas? Love a particular coffee? Bloody Mary’s?
Coffee! We order Texas Pecan coffee beans and make our own coffee most weekends. There is also a coffee truck called Philz that is local to SF and parks nearby our apartment. So some weekends we walk down there with Cosmo and then continue to walk along the water down to the beach!
A special thanks to the vendor team:
Ceremony: Central Christian Church
Reception: Four Seasons Austin
Planner: Pearl Events Austin- Betsy Lowery
Florist: Bouquets of Austin
Catering: Four Seasons Austin
Cake: Four Seasons Austin
Hair/Makeup: Adore Makeup Salon
Entertainment: Matchmaker Band
Stationery: Carly Creative Co.