Tristan Amari & Ileana Gonzalez

Oakmont of Novato

Day two at the front desk

Tristan had been with the company for two whole days when they put him at the front desk by himself. People kept coming in, he had no idea what he was doing, and he spent the entire shift asking the activities assistant for help. That was Ileana.

About a year later, we'd become friends and started hanging out with a group from work. By then Ileana was the Activities Director and Tristan was the Business Office Manager, and the group hangouts slowly turned into just the two of us.

Oakmont's movie theater

Just one more episode

There was never an official first date. It started with long days at work that kept stretching to 8 or 10 at night. Then came texting while we watched Game of Thrones, then phone calls while we watched Game of Thrones, then FaceTime while we watched Game of Thrones.

Eventually we were watching it side by side, the first time in the Oakmont movie theater after work. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being about the show.

Everywhere we can get to

Adventures, near and far

Somewhere between the first episode and the ring, we became a pretty good travel team. We've been to Hawaii, Texas twice, Portland, Santa Cruz and Monterey, taken a cruise to Mexico, and gone on ski trips to Tahoe. Closer to home, we've hiked just about every trail in Sonoma and Marin County.

But some of our favorite moments happen in our own kitchen, cooking dinner together.

Viansa Winery & Sonoma Plaza

A year of working up the courage

After knowing each other for four years and dating for three, Tristan finally asked the question. He'd had the ring for over a year. It took him that entire year to work up the courage.

He asked at Viansa Winery, one of his first jobs and a place he worked for many years. Ileana had no idea. Then came a second surprise: both of our families were waiting on the Sonoma Plaza with an engagement party. Tristan's grandparents live just down the street, and his dad grew up there.

May 15, 2027

What's next

We can't wait to start this next chapter together: living under one roof, building our home, traveling to new places, and someday growing a family of our own. We're so glad you'll be there for the start of it.