There are several things in life that are known to compliment each other. For example, with food: peanut butter and jelly, cookies and milk, and bacon and… well… almost everything. This thought came to mind instantly when I interviewed Titus about his relationship with Grace.

“Grace has what I lack, and vice a versa.”

He’s not the most poetic, but what he had to say touched my heart.

Titus and Grace met through a campus fellowship at UCR called Asian American Christian Fellowship, but it wasn’t until Grace transferred to UCSD that she and Titus really became close. Titus visited Grace when he was bored, and when she needed a friend. And as the story goes, what started as a platonic friendship started to shift and change when Titus decided to bring Grace flowers–and with those flowers came a “define the relationship” moment.

When I asked Titus about how he started to like her, he simply said: “I just liked her heart.” It was a simple answer, but a true one. He went on to say that when he and Grace became official, everyone thought they were joking because they were two very different people. But these two very different people have one commonality that has brought them together in love: their love for God. “We always say its ’cause we love God. That’s how He brought us together.” And this answer was just magnified with the answer that Grace gave.

After the proposal, I was able to ask Grace how she started to like Titus, and she gave a beautiful answer in return:

“There is a certain quote that left a tremendous impact on me as I was praying about my future husband earlier on in my life. The quote said something to this extent, “If you want to find a spouse, run as hard and as fast as you can towards God and see who is running next to you.” In terms of finding a husband, I wasn’t looking, and I definitely had no idea that Titus was going to be the man that I was going to spend the rest of my life with. We started off as friends, pursuing God individually in our spiritual walks. After some time, God started to align our paths with one another and we started to notice certain godly qualities that we were attracted too. We were running after God, and He brought us together. The reason why I “fell in love” with Titus was undeniably due to seeing his genuine heart of service for people, his true love for the Lord, and because he was a man of his word.”

Grace had went on to talk about her love for Titus as a man of God. It was a beautiful answer, and very detailed, but to paraphrase it, “Titus will help any person in need of aid, because it is in his heart to bless others in any way he can.”; “He has a humble heart in knowing that he does not know everything there was to know in the bible. But, this does not stop him from desiring to learn and read the Word to become a man after God’s own heart. And, Titus’s heart to cover me in prayer every morning, and every night was something that I always looked forward too, and was so blessed by during our relationship.”; “In this day and age, our current generation does not value being men and women of their words. Titus, to the best of his ability, keeps his word once he promises something. It may take some time and great thought before Titus commits to a promise, but during our time together, I have seen his effort to be a man of honor and keep his word to the best of his ability.” (Okay so maybe I quoted nearly almost everything she said… haha! But it all made me so happy to hear!) :)

As they dated and progressed in their relationship, they recognized each other’s differences as strengths and things that they lacked in themselves and also needed. Grace found a man with a true love for the Lord, a heart of service, and a man of his word, and Titus found a woman who’s kind heart for the Lord and those around him complimented his heart and his skills, and also encouraged him towards the Lord. :)

And the rest, my friends, is history!

Titus chose to propose on a cruiser partially for privacy, partially for slight sentimentality, and mostly for picnicking and the ocean. Out of sentimentality, some men chose to propose by recreating first dates, or special memories. On their one year anniversary of dating, he and Grace went on a gondola ride to make up for time that he wasn’t able to spend with her when she studied abroad in England for an entire summer, so for his proposal, he decided to one-up his one year anniversary surprise to a different type of boat, PLUS a picnic–which the both of them love!

Titus and Grace knew that as they dated, they were heading towards marriage, so the idea was not at all a surprise to either of them. It was the end goal of their dating relationship. But boy was Grace pleasantly surprised when it actually happened!

When John and I arrived to Kid’s Beach in Newport Beach, we had no idea what to expect. Neither of us had been that far down the peninsula before. It was a gorgeous day, blue skies and beautiful clouds! Continue reading on to see how the rest of this proposal goes! :)

Titus got a special banner made for this special day. Grace’s dream proposal was to be proposed to in a hot air balloon, but because it was a bit too difficult to make it happen privately, he got it put onto the banner instead. It was so cute!

Read til the end to see what Grace had to say about the proposal! :)

 

 

We waited while Titus and Grace got onto their boat and spent some time together. We also waited for Grace’s family, who got stuck in the crazy Labor Day Weekend traffic. :(

Some of the guys brought their swimming trunks and swam in the Kid Beach while we waited. :)

Titus’s brother and sister-in-law brought along with them an awesome ring-shaped balloon and a cute little turtle balloon! :)

And when the time finally came, and Wilhelm (the man behind the planning with TItus) got the text, we all raced to the side of the pier to see if we could spot them out. Can you guess which boat was theirs? They were quite far away! Haha

Titus prepared a slideshow for Grace to look at while he made his way towards the pier.

And once it finished, he pointed up towards the pier and told her to look.

And when she finally saw us, she knew. Grace was completely surprised! SUCESS Titus!!

And then he got down on one knee…

And she said, “YES!”

After the deed was done, Titus drove the boat closer to shore so Grace could see all their wonderful friends. :)

Grace looked like a celebrity as she waved and saw everyone who was on the pier! She looked absolutely beautiful and filled with joy! :)

Phew. The deed was done. :)

Some of the first few statements that I heard from Grace as she stepped off the boat were: “Did you know about this?!” “How did I not know!” “Did you see this ring?!”

It was a pretty impressive ring. GOOD JOB TITUS!

Grace’s mom and youngest sister were able to make it to the proposal, but her middle sister was still stuck in traffic. :(

After we took a few shots on the pier, we headed back to the boat. But before we went, they went and met the women who so graciously allowed them to park their boat at the private pier. They were such sweet women, some of which had been married for several years! They even ended up being believers as well! They asked for their names and said goodbye with an added “We’ll be praying for you!” What a blessing for Titus and Grace! :)

And then, Tesia was finally able to rough it through the traffic and congratulated the newly engaged, and I got a few shots of her with the family and friends before we headed onto the boat! :)

Our great friend Justin allowed me and John to get a photo in with Titus and Grace! :) (As you can see, we definitely got our tan on!)

When we got to finally get onto the boat, we got to see how awesome it was! :) Grace, with her servant’s heart, instantly began to pour us drinks! She tried to take care of us on her big day! You got a good one, Titus! ;)

Titus began driving us back to the rental! :)

And so the mini e-session began! :)

Thanks for taking over the wheels Evangeline! :)

We headed back to TItus’s house for a surprise party! A SECOND surprise for Grace! :) Their friends who decorated the house did an awesome job! :)

We set up this little backdrop for some silly photos as well! :)

The lighting outside was perfect, so we ended our mini session with a couple in the street. :)

As the rest of their guests headed over, we prepared for some group shots! :)

Grace really wanted a photo of them being carried! :)

Remember that time you almost died, Titus? Haha if not, here’s a snapshot of it! Hahaha

 

 

Along with asking about Grace’s feelings towards Titus, and how they grew over time, I asked her how she felt about the proposal from Titus! And this is what she said:

“The proposal was an absolute SURPRISE! Ask any one of my friends, and they will attest to the fact that I usually always know what is going on a head of time. It is extremely difficult to surprise me in any situation. However, Titus’s proposal was one of the biggest and greatest surprises of my life. Thinking back, I was so blessed by his thoughtfulness when proposing on a boat that would bring me to my friends and family who would witness his actual proposal. It was very romantic and very personal in that it included the people who mattered to me the most. Even his consideration and care when selecting my engagement ring was also something that really meant a lot of me. Titus chose a diamond that was of great worth not necessarily because of the size but because of the quality of the diamond. He chose a diamond that was of great worth and would symbolize his heart’s desire to give me the best in our relationship and for that I am thankful. The proposal was such a beautiful surprise, and it is something that I will never forget for the rest of my life!”

 

Good job, Titus! :)

CONGRATULATIONS TITUS AND GRACE! May God continue to bless your relationship and engagement! :D
Happy Friday!