About Paul

Hello. It's your ol' buddy, Paul, with a little info about me. I was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. I went to a science high school and promptly fell in love with the subject of chemistry. I studied it as an undergrad in New York at NYU, then as a graduate student in Boston at Harvard. After finishing my Ph.D., I moved to Los Angeles in 2010 for postdoctoral work at Caltech, then soon met and fell in love with Tara. Now, it's two years later and we're getting married. Hooray.

About Tara

Ok, now it's my turn!  I grew up in Middleton, MA and Alexandria Township, NJ before heading west to Malibu, CA to attend college at Pepperdine University. I was lucky enough to spend a year living at Pepperdine's London campus/house and backpacking through Europe on the weekends. I received my Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast News and Political Science and headed to the Pacific Northwest.

After a short stint as a news writer/producer in Portland, OR, I decided it was time to return to the land of sunshine and happiness (Pepperdine) to work in the Alumni Relations office while completing a Master's Degree in American Studies. I continued to work at Pepperdine and took advantage of the California sunshine, which eventually led to meeting the love of my life, Paul! Even though I've been living in California for nearly 13 years, I still consider myself an East Coaster.  

In my spare time, I work on Hats Off For Cancer, helping kids and teens battling cancer. I also enjoy researching family history and coming up with ideas for my children's historical fiction book series. Most of all, I love spending time with my favorite boys: Paul and my dog, Captain!

The Proposal

It seems customary for couples to provide a brief summary of how the marriage proposal transpired. Here is ours.

The Ringleader: Paul

The Conspirators: Dennis (Tara's brother), Chad (Tara's co-worker and bridesman), Matt (Tara's boss), Sawyer (Matt's kid), Jordan (super-friend of Dennis), Captain (a dog)

The proposal was a tightly coordinated event that could have gone horribly, horribly wrong. It was timed for 1600 hrs on Tuesday, February 19th. At H-2:00, Paul made a quick wardrobe change at home, then spent the next 30 minutes wrangling Tara's dog Captain into his collar and leash. Paul and Captain rendezvoused with Dennis in Malibu, then proceeded to ground zero for the proposal on the campus of Pepperdine University (Tara's workplace).

While these events transpired, Tara's co-workers Chad and Matt lured her to a meeting on a nearby part of campus. Then, under the false pretense of taking Sawyer on a nature walk to see the deer on campus, Chad and Matt led her into the ambush at the Heroes Garden. The Heroes Garden is a serene spot high on campus with beautiful sculpted rock structures and an infinity pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

While Paul held Captain, the ring, and a bouquet of flowers, Dennis and Jordan surveyed the location for the best camera angles and sprinkled rose petals on the ground. Tara was led into the trap, Paul popped the question, Captain performed his duty as ringbearer, and Tara said "yes"!

All the while, Paul was extra nervous due to the possibility of inclement weather. While it almost never rains in Southern California, the forecast gave a 70% chance of showers at 4PM. The back-up plan, to approach Tara in the uninspired lobby of her office building, paled in comparison to Plan A.

Fortunately, we lucked out. Even though Tara was (predictably) late, the rain held off. After some quick phone calls to share the good news, Paul, Tara, Chad, and Dennis went out for a celebratory dinner. When it was over, we emerged into a fierce deluge and a parking lot that was a sea of rainwater.