This story, like all fairy tales, begins a long time ago in a (not so) far away land (San Jose, CA) a young girl enters a crowded class room filled with classmates assembling their instruments while others practiced their scales. Musical notes filled the air, as she finds her seat in the Flute section. She bends over to grab her music from her backpack, when she hears an obnoxiously loud trumpet showing off right behind her! Completely startled by the sudden assault to her ear buds, she quickly turns around in her seat and tells the young trumpet player to cut it out….and just like that…Roxana Guevara met Rick Garcia.

 

Roxana and Rick were blessed to have met each other all the way back in Jr. High School band class. She played the flute, and he played the trumpet.  If you ask Roxana, Rick was the annoying trumpet player in the back, always trying to show off.  Rick, on the other hand, says he was trying to impress her with his melodic tunes! Whichever story you choose to believe, it was then that fate had begun its work, as they began their innocent friendship that would, years later, turn into a romantic one.

 

Time went on and their friendship flourished. Roxana entered high school and was about the turn 15! She asked Ricky to be part of her Quinceñera (a Hispanic Sweet 15) and although he would not be the "Chambelan de Honor" (Escort of Honor), he agreed. It was here, among all the rehearsals in preparation for her big birthday party, where Rick secretly began developing a crush on Roxana, even though she had no clue. 

 

Ricky was a pretty outgoing guy but never did tell Roxana how he really felt, at least not at that point in their life.  Time went on, and eventually, Roxana and Ricky went on to separate High Schools. They did manage to stay connected for a little while, but as they entered two different college (one is California & the other in Colorado), with time & distance, they simply lost touch. 

Some stories would simply end there…but sometimes fate has other plans and takes a little longer to work its magic.
 

Rick comes from a fairly large family with lots and lots of cousins. A lot of those cousins happen to be females, and ALL of them had Quinceñeras! Marissa, Yvette, Lupita, Dalila, the list goes on and on. All of those cousins are pretty close in age to Rick, so naturally, he was in all of them. Why is this important?  Well, that's how the 2nd part of our love story kicks off. 

 

New Year's day of 2011, Rick and his family were at his Tia Rosa's house having menudo, because it's what you do when you're Mexican.  You have some good menudo to fend off "la cruda" (hangover) after the holidays.  As these gatherings go, we talk, we eat, we drink and in no particular order, we do it again. 

 

We started talking about the Quinceñeras in the family and how many Rick had been involved in and then someone asked about Roxana.  You see, Roxana and Tia Rosa literally live around the corner from each other.  Of course the family asked Rick if he knew what she was up to or how she was doing.  He had no answer.  There was fate again, fighting to pull Roxana and Rick together again. Thankfully, Rick heard the plea and a few days after that family gathering went to find out whatever did happen with Roxana. 

 

Where does anyone turn to find out info?? The internet of course…more specifically Facebook! So he requested to be her friend and messaged her to join him for coffee.  A few days later, they met up for coffee and pastries, and in true fate fashion, Roxana showed up to coffee with her Quinceñera photo album in tow.

 

The two reminisced and laughed over the photos, thinking about times gone by. It was then that fate left love in their hands.  The coffee "date" ended with neither of them wanting to leave, but they hugged goodbye with the promise to get together soon.

 

One coffee date turned to a real date...movies, dancing, laughing; all the things that help light the fire of a budding relationship. Rick wasn't going to let her go without telling her how he felt. Only after a month of dating, Rick asked Roxana to officially be his girlfriend...a bit old school and some may say even Jr. High-ish, but he didn't want to lose her again, so in the glow of his parent’s kitchen, he asked her and she THANKFULLY, said yes!  And so the beginning to a beautiful relationship began!

Fast forward to April 7th, 2018.  Rick insisted on having a birthday gathering, but Roxana was hesitant.  Not because she didn't want to have a party, but because they were smack in the middle of moving!  With so much left to pack and organize, Roxana was freaking out about how we were going to pull off a birthday party in the middle of all the moving chaos.  Needless to say, Rick pushed and the party was a go! 

 

What Roxana didn't know was that Rick had ulterior motives! You see, what Roxana didn't know was that Rick was planning on proposing.  Rick enlisted the help of some friends and family to help keep his plans a secret from Roxana. 

 

The day of the party finally came!  As the party got started, people slowly started to arrive, and all was normal.  Although it didn't go completely without some suspicion on Roxana’s part that something was up! You see, Roxana's mom is a hospice nurse and is often called on to work on weekends, which causes her to miss a party from time to time. So when Roxana's mom showed up, she began to get highly suspicious that something was going to happen, but Rick continued to play it cool.

The time had come!

Everyone gathered around for the birthday cake, sang happy birthday and it was then that the tide of the party turned.  Rick blew out his birthday candles and proceeded to thank everyone but in particular, Roxana.  Rick asked Roxana to join him and in front of those they love and hold dearest...

 

Rick got down on one knee, opened the ring box, took Roxana's hand and asked her to marry him!

 

As the ring glittered in its box in the bright sun of that April afternoon, Roxana with tears in her eyes, nodded YES! He was crying, she was crying, their moms were crying as he slipped the ring onto her finger…and with that an eruption of cheers came from all their friends & family, for this princess had agreed to marry her prince charming!

With so much joy and love in their hearts, they ask that you join them in continuing their little fairy tale on August 30, 2019, as they celebrate their union in Xcaret, Mexico!

Fate brought us together, but love will keep us together!
 

See you in Xcaret, Mexico!
Viva los Novios!