Christiane:

Bryan and I met through a labor of love -- a theater production for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Huntington Beach Stake. This last spring, the Stake put on a large theater production which required many hands and performers to successfully complete. We were assigned to work together as crew in the Stage Left wing (which is the only "right" side to work on!). Bryan impressed me from the beginning because he was so prepared for the show; he knew the drill and how to handle all the the emergencies that happen during a show. Working with him was amazingly easy and we quickly fell into a fluid rhythm. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Bryan; our whispered conversations backstage were filled with humor and angst over the show. I thought our bantering might lead to more, such as a dinner invitation, but Bryan decided to make more of an impact: he sent me roses instead!
 
This grabbed my attention and sparked sincere interest in my heart. After the show's run, we reconnected through e-mails, but didn't see each other until the show's cast party. We found our conversation to flow just as it had before; during the next few days, I couldn't stop thinking about him or our conversation.
 
We arranged to go out for dinner which turned out to be the most magical date of my life (and it cost less than $30!). Bryan continued to woo me through more roses and books (the truest way to my heart). I quickly discovered that not only is Bryan a romantic man who knows how to woo a lady, but he is intelligent, well-read and kind. He is everything I am looking for in a mate and I am very lucky to be loved by him.
 
It was very clear to both of us that our connection was divinely inspired and that we are meant to be together. Thank you to all who played a part in bringing us together. We are who we are because of your support and love. We look forward to a long, healthy, loving relationship and hope that you will join us on on the day we begin our life together.
 

Bryan:

As Christiane mentioned, we met by working together backstage at the Stake production "That's Life" last March [2006]. I fulfilled my usual role of taping body mics on the performers, removing them as painfully as possible, and facilitating cast comings and goings (a task which has been likened to trying to herd cats); Christiane did pretty much every other job backstage: setting and striking props, keeping tabs on wireless handheld and body mics, herding performers, and handling whatever crises needed to be resolved quietly and quickly. She helped me out with body mics in a number of sections of the show where time was short, and I tried to help her occasionally with props, though she rarely needed it.
 
Through the show's two-week run, we chatted briefly about ourselves, but did not go into much detail. I knew what she did for a living, and that she absolutely loved it, but not much else. As we went about our jobs backstage, I was impressed by her intelligence, her sense of humor, and her ability to think on her feet (once she got used to the strange way we did things). I enjoyed working with her very much, but my thoughts were not romantic or even very serious until the end of the show's run, when I was faced with the prospect of not working with her any more.
 
On closing night, I decided to send her a dozen white, yellow, and red roses to thank her for her help and good company backstage. We then exchanged a few light-hearted emails for two weeks until the cast party, after which we lingered and had our first serious, distraction-free conversation. [Below is a photograph taken that night just before our conversation.] I truly felt as though I had known her for years. She gave me her phone number and in fact was the first to suggest we have dinner. I went home that night and sent her another dozen roses, this time all red.
 
Our first date was the easiest, most comfortable date I've ever had. We ate dinner and talked the night away. In that first week alone, we spent over 40 hours together. It just seemed natural. She has since proven what I sensed early on -- that she is a wonderful, remarkable woman, and I am truly blessed to have been favored first with her interest and then with her love.
 
Our paths crossed due to a significant number of events, people, and factors, all of which coalesced at the right time in the right order, and we are grateful to the Lord and to those of you who saw the potential of our relationship and nudged us (some subtly, some not-so) in each other's direction.
 

April 6, 2006 -- After the cast party for "That's Life"
L to R: Bryan, Kathy Busby, Christiane, Diane Christensen, Tina Rabideau, Victoria Von Roth