A sea of purple and gold with an obnoxious splash of green and yellow. Paul thought that Lauren’s first impression of him didn't go over so well when they first met in Seattle at a tailgate before the University of Oregon – University of Washington football game in 2010. “I think talking a little bit of trash was my way of flirting,” says Paul. Paul was with a group of his Oregon lacrosse friends and Lauren was with her UW sorority sisters.
“I just remember that Paul was taking pics of everyone, he was really funny,” says Lauren. Over the next few weeks Paul kept running into Lauren's friend Katelyn, and every time he'd ask her more about Lauren, just wanting to find out more of her story, what she was about. Six weeks after that first meeting, Katelyn got Paul invited to Lauren's birthday party.
“Lauren is a really calming and steady presence. I tend to be someone who makes decisions and acts quickly, Lauren is a careful planner. I'm more fired up with excitement and I'm more competitive, Lauren is steady and laid-back,” says Paul. At Lauren’s birthday party the two made plans to meet up in a few days at a pool hall in Capitol Hill in Seattle. Despite all of Paul’s competitive fire, he doesn’t recall winning a single game that night.
Paul pinned that football game ticket stub above his desk. “I like it when Paul gets his mind set to something, he just goes for it!”
On an early morning cruiser-bike ride along Venice Beach, Paul suggested to Lauren that they walk out to the end of the Venice Pier, this wasn't a place they normally would stop at when riding along the beach. They hadn't been out to the end of the pier since before they moved to L.A., since their first trip to L.A. together, when Paul was a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune. Paul, in his mind’s eye, remembered the pier being a place more romantic than in reality. But there, that morning, surrounded by “squawks” and “dudes fishing” Paul proposed to Lauren.
Lauren and Paul chose Palm Springs so that they could have a more intimate wedding and be away from the bustle and distraction of Los Angeles. Lauren used to visit Palm Springs with her family and loves the mountains, desert and outdoors that surround the city. When they found both the C. Farrell House and the Lucy House in old-town Palm Springs, and right around the corner from the other, they felt they had found the perfect location to create a little bubble for their guests. Lauren used the Lucy House as her getting-ready location and the C. Farrell House was the location of the wedding ceremony and reception. The C. Farrell House has an expansive green lawn and swimming pool that made it perfect for day-time activities and hanging out throughout the weekend.
