The Story So Far

Preface

Ralph and Kathleen attended John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, CA. They were both in the same graduating class–the class of 2004. Kathleen began school at JFK in 2001, her Sophomore year. Ralph, on the other hand, has been there since 2000. There were many dances, classes, and school events that they both attended. They also had several mutual friends throughout their time at JFK, but somehow they never actually met each other through the 3 years that they attended school there.

The First Introduction

Ralph went on one of his “first ever” trips to Disneyland in December of 2012 with his good friend Annie. Shortly after getting into the park, Annie finds out that one of her friends, Abe, was also in the park. So Ralph and Annie went to meet up with Abe. The two groups merged and they discovered that Abe had other friends with him. Abe began to introduce his friends to Annie and Ralph. Kathleen and Ralph were the last to meet each other. Instead of saying hello, they asked each other, “Did you go to Kennedy?” They continued through the night, and went their separate ways only to think it was so weird to meet someone from high school… eight long years after!

The Beginning of The Story of Us

“In the summer of 2013, which is about six months after the first introduction, our friend Abe wanted all of us to hang out at one of our favorite spots around the Disney Parks. We met up with Abe at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar and he told us that he was likely moving to NorCal and that is why he wanted all of us to hang out. That is when Kathleen and I met again for the second time. We began to hang out there several times as a group to spend time with Abe before he left. But then Kathleen and I began to talk to each other more and that is when the Disney Magic started to unfold!”  -Ralph

“So, Ralph and I went on several dates at our favorite place, where else— Disneyland! It was suitable for us as it was the place where we first met! It was the place where we got to really know each other! And it was the place we both loved to go to! This is why Disneyland will always hold a special place in our hearts!”  – Kathleen

Kathleen and Ralph began to date, but their relationship was taken to greater heights when they began to bring GOD into their relationship. Ralph initially avoided the invitations to Singles For Christ until Kathleen’s friend, Bea, invited Ralph for the third time. Ralph attended the Christian Life Program and joined SFC. Through constant prayers, God revealed His plans to them when Ralph and Kathleen became official as a couple!

The Engagement

I began to prepare for the proposal about 2 months before I actually proposed on June 20th, 2015. At that point I had the engagement ring for about 3 months. I wanted to do something special for the proposal that I knew that Kit would really enjoy and make it really memorable for her. Kathleen loves to take photos, so I thought it would be cool to make  a creative way to show off some of our pictures. The original idea was to create a multilevel shadowbox to depict the actual proposal, but after further planning into where the proposal would be and how it would occur, it turned into a scrapbook with a hidden compartment. Within the hidden compartment would be two Disney Vinylmation figures that I custom painted for the occasion.

I started off with the painting of the two figures. I had done something like this in the past for our 9 month anniversary while I was away on an internship in Cupertino for 3 months and she really liked it, but the figures were damaged over time. So I hand-painted one figure for her, and one figure for me. My figure originally held the actual ring, but after other changes I decided to create a little mini ring for the figure to hold. I then created the scrapbook by converting a “book-like” photo box by adding wood and creating a ribbon hinge for the hidden compartment. I then cut scrapbook paper and created the scrapbook on top. To finish off the look I used a faux leather fabric to cover the box and give it that leather book look.

I invited our families and some of our friends to a birthday brunch at The Storytellers Cafe in Downtown Disney District and told them we were all having brunch for my birthday. At least that is that Kathleen thought. As people let me know that they could make it, I let them know that I was actually going to propose that day in front of both of our families and our closest friends. After we all ate, I presented the scrapbook to Kathleen and revealed the hidden compartment. She saw the figures and laughed cause she was “too dark” then she saw that my figure had a ring in his hand. I then got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. After some tears of joy she accepted and said “YES”. I then showed her one more surprise in the scrapbook which was hidden, three wooden letters spelling “YES” which were the actual letters she used when she said “YES” to being my girlfriend on October 26, 2013.