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How We Met | The
Proposal | Our Plans for the Future
It was the summer of 1998. Jennifer was getting ready to go with her 9-piece band, Spectrum, on a July 4th trip to Maryland where the band had a gig. Unfortunately, the gig fell through and she was suddenly with out any plans for the Fourth of July. For Ren, it was the big Alberto family reunion. With the impending nuptials of Edward (DaDa) and Jeannette Alberto in New Jersey, all the Albertos from every corner were coming. Only Ren's immediately family were coming: Mom Carol, Dad Roland, brother John and his nephew, Nathan. When the Alberto clan in New Jersey found out that Jennifer and her family were coming, they tried to match up John or Ren with Jennifer (unknown to any of them). When Jennifer and her family finally did arrive in New Jersey, she first met Ren and thought (1) He's CUTE! (2)He looks like a dumb jock. Being the stuck up Southern girl that she was, she snubbed him. When Ren saw Jennifer, he thought (1)She's HOT! (2)She's HOT (3)She's HOT. But when she snubbed him, he thought, "She's a B@#$%!" The wedding day of Jeanette and Edward came. At the reception, Ren and Jennifer were seated next to each other. They started talking and they never stopped. After the reception, they still kept talking until the morning. When the time came for Jennifer and her family to leave, Ren wanted to keep in touch with Jennifer. Jennifer said that it would be difficult to keep in touch since she was in Virginia and he was in Seattle. But he said to her that he will come and see her again. And he did! In August 1998, he spent 2 weeks with Jennifer in Virginia to get to know her friends and family. By May 1999, after calling and writing to each other for about a year, they decided to become an "exclusive couple". They decided that Jennifer would move to Seattle so that they could concentrate on their relationship. It was 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 11th, 2002. Ren just finished picking up Jennifer from Bellevue and was driving home to Seattle. He had planned to take Jennifer out to dinner and propose to her. Unfortunately I-90 from Mercer Island all the way to Seattle was at a standstill. Ren's plans seemed doomed. He couldn't believe his luck! Out of frustration, he slid his hand behind Jennifer's seat, gave her a box and said "Here!" (You have to know Ren! Hee! Hee!) Ren then proceeded to tell Jennifer about the past 2 weeks: how he made
sure his decision to marry her was the right one, talking to his parents
about his decision, planning a dinner, making sure that the ring would fit
her finger, and on and on. By talking to Jennifer, his stress level went
down, down, down. By the time he finished talking to Jennifer, they were
back home in Seattle ( 1 1/2 hours later). As he turned off the ignition,
he said that he wanted to get down on his knees and propose (and that he
would propose right then and there if she wanted him to). He said that he loved Jennifer and
that he would be so happy if she would be his wife. For now, they are happy living in Federal Way with their dog, Hunter. "We'll leave it up to God" they said for plans after the wedding. Back To Top | How We Met | The Proposal | Our Plans for the Future |