Our BIG Announcement!

HEY HEY HEY! GUESS WHAT?!

we are ENGAGED!

That’s right ya’ll! Zech proposed during an epidemic LOL. According to him it didn’t go according to his plan in any way - there were so many obstacles with getting what he needed and wanted to set up the special moment. And yet, it was still beautiful and thoughtful and everything I could’ve ever wanted. So… ready for the story? It’ll definitely make you laugh!

It was May 24… (aka Mina’s 20th birthday) 🎂

So Zech had been saying for weeks and weeks how he’d been planning something special for my birthday (since the last year he hadn’t really done anything to celebrate). If you know me you KNOW that I do birthdays BIG! They are a way to truly truly honor someone’s life - how unique they are to the world and how much you value them as an individual. So hearing that Zech had something planned surprised me (his family doesn’t really do anything for birthdays), but I didn’t think too much of it. The morning of my birthday was a heart-warming surprise in itself, with my friends and family coordinating a drive-by and a small brunch get-together in our backyard. I WAS SO SURPRISED, GUYS. SO SURPRISED. I am so used to being the one behind the cute event to celebrate someone that it was so foreign to be the one on the receiving end. One of my best friends, Brailyn, and my mom teamed up to plan something magical! ✨

When Zech arrived at the house, he brought his best friend, Baylen, and walked in holding an OUTRAGEOUSLY BEAUTIFUL arrangement from Lulus Lei + Bouquet (MY FAVORITE FLORIST ON THE ISLAND) and I was blown. away. And that was enough. It was what I wanted - flowers! Then later that evening he’d planned for us to go camping at Mokulēʻia. He and Baylen left the party early to go hang out at the beach, and the party with my gals went on for the next few hours.

Around 6ish, Zech still wasn’t around… my best friend Jessie had texted me about going to watch the sunset, but I knew that he and I were supposed to go camping, so I reached out to him about where he was at. He said he was still with Baylen IN WAIʻANAE. I was like what?! I hadn’t seen him aaaallllll day and he was out with his friend. He encouraged me to go with Jessie to the beach and that he would grab me later. I was bothered, but agreed to go along. As we were driving, she kept saying how she wanted to go to Ke Iki beach. I suggested us going to Papaʻiloa or somewhere closer to Haleiwa (because I didn’t want Zech to have to drive so far out), but she continued to emphasize us going to the hammocks there. I thought, hm she’s quite decisive tonight LOL. LITTLE DID I KNOW! We got there and it was pretty much almost dark. The sun had almost set into the glowing waters. It was dark, but it was beautiful. I noticed these glowing clusters of light in the sand, almost lighting a pathway to the left, as Jessie led me down to the shore. I thought maybe people had had a TON of small bonfires or something lined up. When we got to the water we took some pictures, then all of a sudden she started running toward the hammocks. It was, like I said before, quite dark, so we couldn’t really tell where we were going, but we tried to walk upward toward the tall tree-like outlines by the beachfront lots. The closer and closer we got to the hammocks, the bigger and BRIGHTER these light clusters on the ground became. Still, I thought nothing of this.

Then, Just as we were paSsing the hammocks… we both heard a deep voice say

HEY

We turned and there he was, standing in the middle of 100 lit candles arranged all around the hammock area. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He did this? I thought, for me??

Jessie stood behind me, recording as I walked closer toward him along the lit pathway. After a loving hug, I sat next to him in the sand. Jessie scurried off into the dark and then it was just the both of us under the evening sky. I had a quick flashback of the night that Zech asked me to be his girlfriend, two years prior to this night. It was here at these hammocks on a rainy evening in July.. I had to pee SO BAD, but I waited and waited until he said “I love you.” It was magical. We’d been dating for a few months, experienced radical transformation with Jesus together, hadn’t even kissed yet, and he’d confessed his love for me. I was in awe. So young, but so in love. Flash forward and here we are under these same stars at these same hammocks on this same beach. This would be a special place for us.

We’d talked for a little bit, and I couldn’t express just how thankful I was to him for making me feel so loved on my birthday. But I. STILL. DIDN’T. GET. IT. Then, he turned over in front of me, kneeling on the sand and said,

“Mina Alohalaulani Samiāfā Mamoe…”

And there came a bunch of other pretty words he began stumbling over. He was so nervous expressing all of the things he loved about me, as tears welled up in his eyes. I could barely see anything, but his face glowed in the candle-light. I couldn’t even believe what was happening. It was surreal. Then, finally, after what seemed like a blur of a speech,

“Will you marry me?”

I just sat there, crying. I couldn’t even answer. An overwhelming amount of emotion overcame me. Happy, excited, surprised, in love! Then, of course, I mustered up the energy in the middle of all the boogers and tears to say a big fat ‘ole,

YYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After we’d embraced each other and cried a little, Baylen popped out of the bushed holding two lei. HOW SWEET?!?! He’d come to congratulate us and helped us clean up these crazy amount of candles. As we drove home, I Face-timed my mom, who wasn’t ~ecstatic~ about the announcement, but she has sure come around these past few months! We’re young and we’re in love and soooo many things could go wrong, but we believe in a God who is so much greater than the both of us and our problems. He will provide for us and guide us through every season!

So friends, we are engaged! fiancees! We are getting married! our hearts are so full in sharing this wonderful news with you folks - our clients, friends, and family in hopes that you’ll celebrate this momentous occasion in our relationship with us ♡

More news to come, as we continue to dream up our wedding day ~ for now, we are reveling in the fact that we will soon be united as one.