UNM students Lisa Remington and Kenny Salazar have been through bad times and good.
Now, the couple hopes to seal the deal with the help of the New Mexico Dream Wedding Giveaway this month.
Remington and Salazar will graduate with their teaching degrees in May, and they said it would be hard for them to find the money for a wedding.
"We plan on going to graduate school after we graduate, and we want to get a house, and it's going to be hard to do all that and a wedding," Remington said.
The couple said they want to be teachers so they can make a difference in kids' lives.
"I think we wanted to give back to our community as teachers and influence lives and better New Mexico," Salazar said. "That's our job - to better Albuquerque together, and I think we need teachers to motivate students to get out there and get an education."
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Salazar is working at Cibola High School, through the UNM student teaching program, to become a biology teacher. Remington is working at Desert Ridge Middle School through the same program to teach English.
But the couple has more obstacles to overcome. Salazar has battled Leukemia for more than five years. Remington said her fiancé's strength continues to astound her.
"I went to middle school with him and I had no idea that he had cancer, and so when I finally found out, I was so taken back that he was such a fighter and he never let anything get the best of him, and that's the way he is," she said. "He is so strong-willed."
Salazar said he loves Remington because he can be himself around her.
"I have no problem laughing with her," he said. "She's so cool and she'll say something and it will be just so hilarious and I will laugh about it for the rest of the day, and it's just her personality."
Remington said making it through the good and bad times have made her and Salazar realize they want to spend the rest of their lives together.
"We've been through a lot together, and we stuck by each other's side and never faltered," she said. "And that's one reason why we know that we are meant to be together, because we have been through the good times, but more importantly, we have stuck through and got through some difficult times together."
Salazar put a lot of effort into the proposal - because he didn't want to just get on one knee at a restaurant, he set up a scavenger hunt.
"I would have clues (around Albuquerque) and they would be like, 'Where was our first date?' and 'Where's our favorite restaurant?'" he said.
At every clue, Salazar would get updates on where she was and how far she was from her final destination.
Salazar spent the day before setting up the clues for the day-long event. He let Remington's best friend in on what was going on, and she aided Remington in finding the clues.
"I also had someone follow her with a video camera, so it's all taped," he said.
Remington said she thought Salazar made a fun event for her and her friend to spend the day together.
"He had told me my best friend was feeling really sad that 'You don't spend as much time with her, and I wanted to make a day for you and her to spend together,' so she was playing along," she said.
The last clue was at Salazar's home, where all of their friends and family waited inside.
"The clue, all it said was, 'You'll get a surprise.' It didn't say anything else," he said.
Salazar said he couldn't sit still as he waited for her to get to his house.
"I was pacing because I was so nervous," he said. "I didn't write anything; I was going to say whatever was in my heart as soon as I saw her."
Remington said she had no idea he was going to propose. She thought Salazar had made dinner for them and he would take them to a movie later.
As soon as she entered the door, Salazar began his proposal.
"She opened the door and was like, 'What the?' and was looking around because there was a lot of people there and I got down on one knee," he said.
As he was placing his hand in his pocket to pull out the ring, she yelled out, 'Yes!' and gave him a hug. Everyone started clapping.
Remington said Salazar would continually talk about how he didn't want to get married.
Remington's parents also played along by telling the couple they hoped they weren't getting too serious in their relationship and should take their time to settle down.
But Salazar said he knew he was in love with Remington as soon as he got to know her, and Remington said her feelings for Salazar convinced her to stay at UNM.
"The thought of being away from him and the thought of leaving New Mexico made me too sad, so I decided to stay here, and he asked me out and I said 'Yes,'" she said.
Community members can vote for their favorite of five finalists at the New Mexico Dream Wedding Giveaway Web site, NmDreamWedding.com, from Feb. 9 to Feb. 20.
