Wedding: A Scrapbook Love Affair

Growing up in an Indian household, if Raman Kaler brought a man home to meet her parents, she knew that he must be the one she hopes to marry.

"My parents actually wanted to set me up with a guy that was 5-foot-10, from New York, and an engineer," she said about a possible arranged marriage. "I was like, 'what am I going to have in common with a guy who's from New York? Five-foot-10 is way too short, and if he's an engineer he's probably a total nerd." 

Ironically, the first man Kaler did bring home to meet her family fits that description. She met a 5-foot-10 engineer from New York at Union Cattle Company last year, and fell in love.

"She came over and made fun of me because I was wearing a sweater around my neck," said Kurt Fredlund, who now lives in Hermosa Beach, and caught Kaler's eye that night.

After spending the evening taunting and flirting, the two exchanged numbers and a relationship immediately developed.

"I knew after dating him that he was the one," Kaler said, which made meeting her parents more meaningful, yet nerve-wracking.

Kaler invited Fredlund to meet her parents in May. Fredlund said that he wasn't initially nervous, but when Kaler's father asked, "is the end of the year good for you to get married?" — Fredlund froze.

"I expected it to happen, and then when it actually did... you're kind of like 'uhhh,'" Fredlund said.

Kaler was pleased that Fredlund's first encounter with her parents, anxious to see her wed, resulted in them accepting Fredlund and not turning him away.

"I totally commend my parents on how they have welcomed him into the family," she said. "Talk about relief."

As Kaler's parents pushed the marriage question, she and Fredlund realized that they were meant to be, and agreed to plan a wedding together.

But "I wanted an official engagement," Fredlund said, adding that he wanted a diamond and bended knee included in the affair.

So Fredlund casually suggested last month that he and Kaler have an "Us Day." The couple went to the beach on that quiet afternoon in July, visited their favorite local eatery, and ran errands.

"I had no idea he was going to propose," Kaler said. "No idea."

All the while, Fredlund had their scrapbook, which documents their year together as a couple, tucked away in his backpack without his fiancée knowing, and a ring.

"Our first year of being together, we decided to make a scrapbook," Fredlund explained. "It fell by the wayside because we got so busy."

The future bridegroom decided to finish the memento and use the last pages to propose to Kaler.

After a walk on the pier, Fredlund took Kaler to his home, where they sat on his rooftop deck and he handed her the scrapbook. The bride-to-be flipped through, smiling at the first pages that the couple created together.

She then lingered on the last pages that her fiancé included, reading a love note that he wrote on the final page. Her heart stopped when she saw the engagement ring attached.

"Will you marry me," Fredlund asked.

"Of course," Kaler exclaimed. But it wasn't enough for Fredlund who wanted to hear the word "yes." So he asked again.

"I think he proposed, like, three times after just to get me to say 'yes,'" Kaler joked.

Mr. Fredlund and Ms. Kaler are to be wed on May 7, 2011, in San Jose, Calif., where the couple will celebrate their marriage in a traditional Sikh ceremony.

Do you know another local couple tying the knot? E-mail: jacqueline@patch.com