Bride-to-be dons ravishing red gowns in a Northern California engagement shoot at Regale Winery

Real Engagements: Alisha & Todd

Black African American fiancee Alisha engagement white fiance Todd engaged Los Gatos Northern California winery photo shoot proposal ring west coast wine country theme red maroon napa valley coworkers interracial

Years after graduating from the University of Missouri, Columbia to pursue a career in communications, Alisha made her way out West where she took a job with Apple. A newer pastime for Alisha was visiting wineries, and she happily benefited from living in Northern California and being able to frequent Napa Valley. When mapping out her first trip to wine country, she was unanimously instructed by coworkers to “talk to Todd.” Todd happened to work at Apple as well, but the San Jose State University graduate was also a wine expert on the side. He gladly supplied Alisha with a list of wineries to begin with. Todd and Alisha began taking walks around their company’s campus and getting to know one another. After a few months, the two scheduled their first date, which was on Alisha’s birthday. That night, they felt so comfortable with one another, they shared their first kiss. Todd, who works in corporate communications, knew he had found his person in Alisha. Prior to popping the question, he asked for Alisha’s father’s blessing first and foremost. He then sought out Alisha’s sister to help him choose a just-right ring. The couple continued dating, but with a global pandemic now in the picture, Todd had to get creative in his proposal as far as the how and when. Whenever the pair were together, he had the ring hidden in a pocket or bag in case “the perfect moment” would arrive. As they often say, the ring was proverbially burning a hole in his pocket – he was getting antsy to propose to Alisha and simply could no longer wait for a “perfect moment.” As Alisha was preparing to fly back East to see her family, Todd felt it was time to make it happen. Alisha’s family was also in on the secret. Before she left, Todd knelt beside her bed, with the ring box in hand and asked for her hand in marriage. She emphatically accepted his proposal and got to fly home to show her family what had just transpired.

Because a shared love of wine has been a consistent theme throughout Alisha and Todd’s relationship, the couple naturally opted to do their engagement photo shoot at one of their favorite wineries and this served as their inspiration. After the dreariness of the pandemic, the couple craved a reason to get dressed up, and Regale made the perfect backdrop for their formal attire. Red is Alisha’s favorite color, so she wore two different red gowns. The couple wed on October 17, 2021 in New Orleans, LA.