Theirs is a classic American love story, with an international twist.

The year: 2000. The setting: Rocklin High School. Matt Brown was a varsity basketball player; Heather Mosqueda was a cheerleader. The two met in
leadership class on the first day of school.

The groom proposed to his bride outside of that same classroom two days before Christmas 2006, on bended knee with a ring box in hand.

By then, Matt and Heather were living in England, where Matt has been pursuing an advanced degree in sports medicine at Oxford University. Heather is an administrator at the university.

Their courtship was defined by distance dating. Matt, an avid rower, started undergrad at UCLA, then transferred to Yale. Heather attended California State University, Sacramento, and spent her junior year in Spain.

Once they moved to England, Matt went to Oxford and Heather stayed in London to complete a master’s degree in art history. They knew they were ready to marry after completing two weeks and 200 miles on foot along the “Camino de Santiago,” a pilgrimage through northern Spain.

Stateside, their mothers did some of the wedding planning for them. Heather found her gown on Craigslist; her mom picked it up for her.  “It was three sizes too big, but the length was perfect. Go figure,” Heather says.