On Friday, September 13th, two Costa Mesa High School alumni got engaged right here on campus!
Paul Gruenbeck graduated from CMHS in 1986. As a freshman, Gruenbeck struggled to open his locker, that is until the girl who occupied the locker above showed him how; he had to turn the dial twice after the second number in the combination. That girl was named Julie Grooms, his future wife. When Gruenbeck came home that night, he told his dad, “I’ve fallen in love with the most beautiful girl!”
Since then, Julie had been talking about recreating the magical moment when they met at the lockers, so Paul decided that this would be the perfect moment to propose to his high school sweetheart.
Paul told Julie that they were going out to a family dinner. However, he then pulls into the CMHS parking lot and suggests going to visit the lockers beforehand.
Once Paul and Julie find their old lockers, numbers 933 and 934, Paul gets down on one knee to open his locker, revealing a ring and flowers. He then turns around and asks Julie to marry him, to which she says yes!
Julie reveals later that this isn’t the first time Paul had proposed to her. After having surgery, he had proposed to her at the hospital using a Ring Pop. The nurses and Julie weren’t sure if he was being serious or not, however, since he had just come out of surgery, which is why he decided to have a do-over.
Congratulations on your engagement, Paul and Julie!
