Best Friends
Best Friends
She Said yes
She Said yes
Since everyone asks, here's how it happened. Thaddeus surprised Jac with a last-minute trip––ostensibly for her birthday––to California wine country. With the help of Jacqui's close friend, Katie Hetrick, he sent the engagement ring ahead to Katie's home in the Bay Area. This followed by only one day Thaddeus' decision to propose. Prompted suddenly, but almost matter-of-factly, one afternoon in February while in a colleague's Midtown Manhattan office, Thaddeus acted right away and called his future father-in-law in Australia to received his blessing to marry his daughter. Within 24 hours, Thaddeus found the perfect ring, sent it to Katie, made dinner reservations for Friday, and booked plane tickets to SFO for the weekend. Arriving at Katie's place from the airport, Thaddeus quickly sneaked the ring into a front pocket then drove Jac to Brix, a favorite farm-to-table restaurant. Now, understand: this was part of a plan to beguile Jac. You see, Brix sits to the west of Highway 29 in stunningly beautiful Yountville, CA. Its backyard organic garden butts up to a vineyard, which in turn borders the foothills of the Mayacamas mountains. At 5PM in February, Jacqui had no defense: the (rather glorious) California sun setting behind the Mayacamas, the enchanting winter vineyard, and the completely unexpected proposal and ring proved too much for the poor girl. So much so, it seems the spell may last an actual lifetime.