Clear Cut Couples: Christian and Kristen

Christian and Kristen’s parents both attended the same church group, and they all went every Friday night. That’s where they met in 2005! Christian was around 12 and Kristen was 10 at the time. As they grew up, they became closer friends especially because they saw each other every Friday since they were both in music ministry. In 2011, they had both experienced a loss of a loved one when Kristen’s grandfather passed in February followed by Christian’s dad later that December. By 2012, they were talking almost everyday and when Kristen needed a date to her junior year prom at Treasure Island in San Francisco, she invited Christian to go with her as friends. They had zero intentions of getting into a relationship going into that night, but they ended up having a great time! When they realized that they had both developed feelings for each other at prom, they started dating a few months afterwards and have been together ever since!

Since they were friends for so long, they can’t remember if their first date was going out for sushi or walking around the mall holding hands for the first time! AWW!

They have been together for a little over 8 years, but have known each other for around 15! They were both just a couple of teenagers when they got together, so it definitely wasn’t easy in the beginning as they learned to navigate life and find themselves as individuals. Thankfully their parents have been great examples to them and have been guiding lights throughout their relationship. They’ve supported each other through many of those challenges and life changes that come with transitioning into young adulthood and have come out on the other side stronger together.

Two weeks after they started dating, they actually went on a trip to New York with their youth group! Not many people knew they were dating yet at the time, so it was definitely fun keeping it as their little secret throughout the trip. Other than that, their favorite trips have always been to places with beaches and warm weather! Their first vacation as a couple was island hopping in Palawan, Philippines in 2018 and in 2019, they rented a car in Mexico for a mini road trip from Playa del Carmen to Tulum! After it’s safe to travel again, their first stop will definitely be to a tropical destination!

Christian proposed on August 1, 2020. They recently hit their 8 year anniversary on July 30th, but because they both had work during the week, he had planned a belated celebration in the city. They headed out downtown for lunch and decided to walk around the Embarcadero to kill time before their dinner reservations at 5pm. After lunch, Kristen had asked what the plan was for the rest of the day and he asked her if she wanted to check out Treasure Island being that they hadn’t been back since their prom night. She agreed and they went on their way! Christian said, “I had our family and friends parked in a separate parking lot so we could walk to the proposal spot without Kristen catching sight of them. I waited for all our friends and family to get situated behind Kristen without her knowing. After admiring the perfect view of the cityscape in front of us, I asked her to turn around and popped the question! We ended the night with a dinner accompanied by our family and friends with an amazing view of the Bay Bridge.”

They had discussed taking the next step to get engaged a lot more over the past year. Kristen had been sending him pictures and videos of her dream ring, so she had a feeling that he would be proposing soon, but she didn’t know exactly when. It’s usually really difficult surprising her and she definitely suspected something was up on the day when she noticed her family showering and getting ready at the same time as she was getting ready for the anniversary date. Although she was suspicious at first, she had no idea what his plans were for the day and she was completely surprised by the ring! “It was better than she could’ve imagined and described it as the perfect fit for her personality - a simple, delicate design to highlight her solitaire diamond.”

As of right now, they’re planning for a Summer 2022 wedding right in the San Francisco Bay Area on the date of their 10th year anniversary. It will definitely be a challenge planning a wedding with the ongoing pandemic, but they hope to be safely celebrating with their family and friends by then! Congrats you two!!