Joe and Sari flew to Mexico City for Valentine's Day, traveling with their dear friends Eloy Chio and his wife, Ibet. They landed the night before and celebrated the only way that made sense: tacos, straight off the plane.

Marriage had already been talked about, and Sari knew a proposal was coming sometime on that trip. The plan, carefully arranged by Joe in advance, was a proposal over dinner at a very nice restaurant on Valentine's night. Eloy and Ibet knew the plan. What nobody but Joe knew was that the plan was about to move up by several hours.

On February 14, the four of them spent the day exploring, and in the afternoon they climbed to Castillo de Chapultepec, the castle above the Bosque de Chapultepec. Time got away from them, and the castle was about to close. Joe rushed everyone up to the terrace while Sari, quite reasonably, wanted to stop and take photos.

On the terrace, with the city spread out below, Ibet drew Sari's attention away for just a moment. When Sari turned back, Joe was down on one knee behind her, ring in hand. She said yes, and the strangers gathered on the terrace cheered.

And because some moments deserve to move, here is the kiss, exactly as it happened:

That night, the four of them went to the dinner Joe had arranged all along. And here is the secret the castle almost stole: the dinner proposal was always the plan, and Sari knew about it from the start. The castle was the surprise. The dinner was the plan, and Sari played her part beautifully.

When the restaurant staff presented her with red roses and a dessert carrying a card that read "¿Quieres casarte conmigo?", Sari gasped, teared up, and looked utterly astonished, as if she had not been engaged since that afternoon.

An amazing actress at work. Best performance of the night, and it was not close.

There was a kiss to applause from the room, the ring moment across the table, a champagne toast with interlocked arms, and Eloy and Ibet celebrating right alongside them. Two proposals, one day, one very happy yes.

One day in Mexico City started it, but the life around it is the real story: family dinners and boba runs in McAllen, getting lost in the art at Meow Wolf and cheering at Medieval Times in Dallas, live music, park nights, and a house full of people they love. You can see more of it in the Gallery, and we cannot wait to add a Spring 2027 celebration in the Rio Grande Valley to the collection.

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