On February 7th, 2016, Ala and Shida had finally and officially crossed paths after a few prior missed opportunities. These two lovebirds’ stars aligned exactly when they were supposed to meet, at a time in their lives that was completely unexpected. As they were both living their lives on different sides of the coast, neither one of them had any thoughts about dating or settling down anytime soon. These two were unaware that the universe had a sweet surprise waiting for them come Super Bowl Sunday.

Ala had flown in that week from Washington D.C. to go snowboarding with his brother, Vala, in Mammoth, having no idea that this trip had much bigger plans for him, his future… and his big heart.

After their ski trip, Ala headed back to Santa Monica to spend more time with his brother and nephew that weekend. That Sunday, Vala mentioned they will be heading to a friend’s place for a Super Bowl party. Ala didn’t think much of it, and went along with the plans.

Shida was at the music studio that day and her sisters, Shideh and Shirin, planned to have a Super Bowl party at their house. Shida wasn’t planning on being home or attending, but her writing session surprisingly ended early and she headed home. When she arrived at home, her sister’s friends were just starting to walk through the door. Shida was only interested in watching which musicians were performing before the game and Beyonce’s half-time show...

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Then the infamous awkward first encounter occurred, where Shida politely introduced herself and Ala suddenly froze… completely speechless and lost in her beauty. How long this awkward silence lasted is still up for debate, but the important factor is that Shida made a lasting impression, while Ala’s “game” was irreparably damaged forever and never found again. Through the help of Ala’s sister in-law, Sahar, and Shida’s older sister, Shirin, they teamed up to save the day by giving Shida’s number to him without her permission. Ala wasted no time in calling her. An initial dinner date was denied, but like winning a participant trophy, she suggested to meet for breakfast a few hours before his flight back to D.C.

Their breakfast date turned into five months of friendship, which included very long phone conversations, those long phone conversations turned into a year of dating long distance and living on Virgin America Airlines, that year of dating long distance turned into Ala moving to Los Angeles and moving in together, and moving in together turned into four words that made this journey all worth it… “Will You Marry Me?”