Weddingbee bios

A Little About the Groom

Daniel was born on September 12, 1980 in the state of New Jersey. While growing up, he lived in Florida, Texas, Sweden and Australia but claims Dallas as the place "where he is from." Dan is a proud Aggie and graduated from Texas A&M in 2003; after school he moved to Southern California, where he resides to this day. He works in business development for Ford Motor Company. One of Dan's true passions is the sport of soccer and he still tries to get out and play as much as possible. He also enjoys playing on his softball team, and firing up the grill. 

A Little About the Bride

Jamie was born on July 26, 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts. She spent the first 18 years of her life in a large suburb of Beantown and still considers herself a Boston girl. Jamie left New England, attended Penn State and eventually graduated in 2002. She moved to California after college and has since bounced back and forth between DC and So Cal every few years. She works as a project manager and aerospace engineer for a small software company. Jamie loves cats, cooking & baking and being active outside.

A Little About Us

Shortly after Dan and Jamie met they learned they had a shared love of several things including napping. They still astound their friends with their ability to sleep. In July 2007 the couple moved to Balboa Island in Newport Beach with Jamie's fantastically furry and frenzied cat, Meeko. When they are actually awake, they love to ride (their matching) beach cruiser bikes, take walks on the island, barbeque, entertain, play Scrabble, go camping, catch a live band and run the occasional 5K.

On the eve of moving to DC for a three month work assignment, my girlfriends and I decided to spend a fun night on the town and celebrate my last night out. That chilly January night took us to one of favorite places on Newport Peninsula, Woody's Wharf. We stood in line huddled together, Melissa being the tall one, could see inside the bar from our pack. Suddenly, she spotted a cute man and said, "Ooo, I'm going to talk to that guy!" I strained my neck to see who she was talking about and after a quick inspection I quipped, "Not if I talk to him first!"

After enduring the Southern California cold (I mean it was 55 degrees out!) we were inside, laughing and carrying on to the music. Melissa and I noticed the same cute guy from before on the edge of the dance floor. I then decided I was incredibly thirsty and abruptly walked over to the bar and stood right next to him. This is the moment I was going to meet cute guy, or so I thought. I casually turned toward him and opened my mouth to say hello just as he spun around and walked away.

I returned to my girls and eventually we ventured out to the screened patio lined with heat lamps; remember it was cold! An hour later I was chatting with a new friend when out of nowhere I was nearly knocked over. My drink went flying as the hockey hip check hurled me 3 feet forward. I regained my composure and spun around to see the cute guy from earlier. With a half smile on my face I looked at him and said, "Hey buddy, there's enough room under the heat lamp for everyone." He flashed his gorgeous smile and smartly replied, "So sorry, I just get a little territorial sometimes." That witty remark was all I needed to introduce myself and start a conversation with Dan that lasted the rest of the night.

At some point he asked for my phone number. I warned him that I would be on the East Coast for the next three months. At this he only said, "Well, you still get cell service there, right?" As he put my number in his phone they ushered us out for closing time. I noticed that Dan's friends had abandoned him, and as the designated driver, I offered him a lift home. This was the ride that almost kept us apart forever.

The next day I finished packing and rushed off to LAX. After dropping my car off at the long term lot, I swooped into the terminal to find that my flight had been cancelled. I spoke with an agent, and I was rebooked, but my new flight didn't leave for 8 more hours. Rather then wait it out in LAX I trekked back to my car and jumped onto the freeway; when then, I heard a strange ringing emanating from my little car. I pulled over and after some searching found a phone under the passenger's seat, a phone that belonged to one cute guy I drove home last night.

I called the number that kept calling the phone and reached Dan. I agreed to deliver it to him in person since my original travel plans were bust. We spent the next 6 hours watching TV, laughing and getting to know each other. By the time I had to return to the airport, I was sad to leave California. During the next three months I was DC, Dan and I talked nearly every night and he patiently awaited my return to California in May.

So, thank you United for cancelling that flight in late January of 2007, otherwise I may have never found Dan's phone in my car and just may have missed out on the love of my life.

Alright kids, keeping secrets from your loved ones is never an easy task, and this was the biggest secret I ever had to keep. By the time I had the engagement ring in my possession I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. The anticipation was killing me. Unfortunately, Jamie was out of town for work that week and I picked the ring up on a Monday. Now I know what Frodo was feeling like in The Lord of the Rings. It was driving me crazy.

Jamie was returning home late Thursday night and I knew she would be exhausted. I thought Friday would be a great time to surprise her with the proposal. Earlier that week I planted a seed in her head we should relax on Friday after the week away from home. I asked Jamie if she’d like to go for a picnic after work; I’ll get the food and make the preparations; she just needs to show up.

Friday felt like it was the slowest day ever, I had the ring in my pocket all day long. On the drive home from San Diego I was thinking about all the things that could go wrong and my backup plans. When I called Jamie to pick her up I said that I couldn’t find any parking on Balboa Island, so I might as well pick her up by the bridge near our apartment. As she waited I snuck up behind her on foot. We walked down the boardwalk but we passed my normal parking spot. I then turned not towards the street, but towards the public dock. She had no idea what was going on, at the end of the dock was a 21 foot Duffy Boat waiting for us. A Duffy is a small electric powered boat with a canvas canopy top that many people use to cruise Newport Harbor. This particular model had room for twelve, Satellite radio and an ice bucket for drinks. I made sure that the ice bucket was stocked, and placed a purple orchid and appetizers on the table.

Jamie was surprised for her boat ride picnic. We put on the tunes and pulled away from the dock. I was pretty nervous and haven’t driven many boats so I asked Jamie take over the wheel. I anxiously ate and drank the whole time not saying too much. After 15 minutes, one of our favorite songs started playing, we cranked it up and enjoyed being together alone on the water. After the song ended, I knew that this was the time.

I turned the radio off and slowed the boat down. Then I sunk down on one knee, pulled out the ring, and asked her to marry me. There were no tears, just laughing as she yelled, “Yes!” three times. We were both so happy and she wanted to hug me, but I was still on one knee. Unfortunately, I was stuck from lodging myself between the seat and the captain’s chair. Getting up was a lot harder than getting down on one knee. The rest of the evening we spent laughing, talking and enjoying our picnic on the water.

After sunset we dropped off the boat and everyone from the boat shop welcomed us back, clapping and congratulating us on our engagement. We were then given souvenir Duffy Champagne Flutes as our first engagement present. For dinner, I had reserved a table at Woody’s Wharf on the patio where we met. The table overlooked the water and was next to the infamous heater where I bumped into Jamie. Now that the engagement was over, I felt much more relaxed. I didn’t have to keep the secret anymore and we were so excited to share our news with our friends and family.