The words came from a sweet voice behind him.

It was the Tequila and Taco Festival in Ventura, CA. The date was July 23, 2016.

Michael was working as the standby EMT at the event. The first aid station was underneath the one large tree at the festival fairgrounds. All day, he had festival attendees approach him for bandaids, ice packs and Tylenol as the DJ blared loud music. So when he heard that voice behind him, he expected it to be followed up with “Do you have anything for headaches?”

Little did he know that he would turn around and come face-to-face with the love of his life. Veronica had approached Michael at the first aid station while attending the event with her family. It started off with small talk and suddenly the noise of the festival around them seemed to disappear. That was over 9 years ago.

Since then, it’s been an incredible adventure. We’ve been blessed with amazing experiences and even more importantly, with the best family and friends we could ever ask for. One of our best friends blessed us with our first home together. A cozy guest home at the end of a long dirt road in Agua Dulce. A home where we grew together. We moved in just as the pandemic took over the world and we rescued two cats- our feisty Gatsby and cuddly Mr. Bates- thanks in part to Veronica’s tia who got us in touch with the rescue.

After a few years, we were blessed with our wonderful mountain home by Michael’s amazing parents. A home we adore together and we rescued two dogs- Ariel the diva and Leia the big baby -and yes, the dogs became friends with our cats. In fact, our Pitbull, Leia, regularly cuddles with Mr. Bates. We filled our home with what we love- mostly cat statues, a karaoke machine, spooky finds and Legos -and our home -with each other- became our happy place.

Veronica’s incredible parents and family helped Michael in orchestrating the proposal. He proposed in the backyard of the home that Veronica grew up in. So many friends and family members came to celebrate us and witness the proposal. And she said “No.” Just kidding 😁 we all know she said “Yes” and made Michael the luckiest man alive.

Over the years, we got a hamster, worked on a few film sets together, visited Disneyland a few hundred times 👀, went on a few epic trips together, and had to say a few hard goodbyes to some of the people and animals that we loved. We can’t wait to see where this journey takes us in the future (maybe a mini Veronica or Michael 🍼).

We want to thank each and every one of you for showing us so much love and kindness throughout the years. We love you all and we’re incredibly lucky to have each of you in our lives.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Now, let’s all have fun together on January 24th, 2026.

Love,

Veronica & Michael