At dinner on a very special night, the couple shared thoughts on their relationship. “Christopher, I love you. I’m happy with my life with you and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” Nancy told him, words that went straight to his heart. He felt so excited he wanted to pop the question right then and there; alas he did not.At the close of dinner they both headed downstairs into the lobby of the hotel. They sat down on the sofa and took stock of the great day they both had thus far. “Are you ready to go?” asked Chris. “Sure,” responded Nancy. They headed outside and Nancy, expecting Chris to hail a cab, was hit with surprise when a door to the limousine outside was opened for the both of them. They entered the limo and drove off.Nancy had not been in a limo before and was taking the experience in. On they went, driving past the various monuments that embody Washington, D.C. As long as they had been in D.C. neither of them had done the “D.C. tour” since their arrival, so to tour the monuments (many of which were new to Nancy and Chris) was a real treat.As Chris stared at Nancy, he noticed a look of being tired on her face. “Are you ready to go” he asked. “Yeah, I’m a little tired,” she explained. Chris rolled down the privacy glass to the limo and asked the driver to take them to their “final destination.” As the limo drove on, Nancy saw a familiar location getting closer. Her eyes lit up with excitement as the limo pulled up in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.Nancy and Chris marched into the hall and received their tickets for box seats at the National Symphony Orchestra. Nancy had participated in band throughout her entire scholastic education so she more than most really appreciated the symphony. Chris enjoyed watching Nancy and appreciating how much she loved the symphony. He thought the music was pretty good as well. They enjoyed the whole show and gave the conductor and symphony a standing ovation.They began to walk to the curb and Nancy wondered how they would get home. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, a new limousine pulled up to their location. In they went, and Nancy wondered where they were going, and how the evening could possibly get better after box seats for the symphony.“There is one statue that we have not seen yet, I’d like to show it to you,” he told her. She wondered why he was acting out of character, but she had been so surprised by the evening’s festivities that she was not about to attempt a guess as to what was to come. The driver pulled up to a spot just off of the Potomac. It was a grassy area that was so picturesque, even at 11:30 it could be appreciated. To the left of the park was a huge statue, which appeared to be coming out of the ground.As Nancy looked on to the statue she began to wonder why in the world Chris would bring her to this spot. As she turned to ask him just that question, she met him looking up at her from a one-kneed position. He reached for his pocket and told her: “ I brought you to this statue, because its name is The Awakening. Nancy you’ve awakened the best parts of me. You’ve awakened my soul, my unwavering love, and my commitment to you. Nancy Lizette, will you marry me?” asked Chris. Tears fully flowing from her eyes, Nancy mustered a smile and responded... “Yes.”The couple honeymooned with a seven-day Southern Caribbean cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico. They make their home in Washington, D.C.
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Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Espinosa |
Christopher Espinosa and Nancy Gonzalez exchange wedding vows
June 19, 2009
Santa Paula News
Nancy Lizette Gonzalez and Christopher Edward Espinosa exchanged wedding vows in a double ring ceremony May 30 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Paula. Father Charles Lueras officiated.
The bride is the daughter of Ramón and Roseanne Gonzalez of Santa Paula. The groom is the son of Victor and Laura Espinosa of Santa Paula.The bride wore a beautiful gown and carried Gerbera daisies. She was attended by maid of honor Nikki Gonzalez of Santa Paula, wearing a watermelon-colored dress, and bridesmaids Kimberly Benson of New Orleans, Devonne Johnson of Santa Barbara, Erin Cahill of Sacramento, and Yajaira Valdavinos and Marisa Espinosa, both of Santa Paula.The groom was attired in a Humphrey Bogart/Casablanca-style white tuxedo jacket with black trousers. Best man was Victor Espinosa of Santa Paula.Special music was provided by Michael Lara.The reception was held at the Limoneira Ranch, with service provided by Santa Paula’s Garden Market.The bride is a graduate of Santa Paula High School and UCLA. She works as a paralegal for Genner & Block, LLP. The groom graduated from SPHS and Ventura College. He works as national director of special projects for LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens). Each had been a Santa Paula resident for 20 years.The meeting:Chris’ version: I can remember the exact day that Nancy and I met. It was December 31, 2001. It was very easy to remember because we met at a New Year’s party being held at the home of the family of a mutual friend of ours. It was a pretty dull party, and truth be told I’ve never been one to just show up and “hang out”. But toward the end of the evening things got a lot more interesting. Nancy walked in with her then-boyfriend, and I tried my hardest not to let on that I was instantly attracted. She had the most beautiful curly brown locks I’d ever seen and she was wearing glasses, which of course had to mean that she was smart. I introduced myself as Chris and her response was to accuse me of lying! “You’re lying, that’s not your name,” said she. At that point I was so spun, if she had told me my name was Bob I would have believed her; “Your name is Christopher,” she continued. Thus, my name to Nancy has been Christopher ever since. In the days to come I found myself conveniently being drawn to places I knew Nancy would be. A few weeks later we were officially an item, and I knew I was forever in love with her. The rest is history.Nancy’s Version: December 31st, 2001 was the first day I had been feeling well after suffering from the flu. My small group of friends was having a gathering to bring in the new year and I had not planned on attending because I still wasn’t feeling all that well. At the last minute I decided to just go to the party. I arrived to the party twelve minutes before the new year. Immediately, I noticed this guy I had never seen before. I recall thinking to myself, who is this character dressed up in slacks and dress shirt and an overcoat. No one in Santa Paula wears a wool overcoat; come on this isn’t the east coast. I thought he was pretty handsome and made my way over to him to introduce myself. He introduced himself as Chris. He must have thought I was nuts because I said “You’re lying, your name probably isn’t Chris.” I told him it was probably Christopher, not Chris. Realizing what I meant, he then agreed that his real name was Christopher. Throughout the night he tried to impress everyone by showing off his skill of perfectly breaking off the bottom of a glass bottle and attempting to make breakfast, which was not at all impressive. He actually made the kitchen a disaster and the food was not edible. Throughout the following week, Christopher showed up everywhere my friends and I were. I wondered why he was suddenly hanging out with my group of friends when I had never seen him before. He began sending me emails and calling me two weeks after we met. Exactly, a month after first meeting, as we sat on a playground, Christopher asked me out. Seven years later we are still together and ready to spend the rest of our lives together.The Proposal:
