we're getting married!

We met when we were paired up as bridesmaid and groomsmen at a mutual friends wedding! Who knew that we would walk down the aisle together 10 years later?

I had the ring for a month or so before I proposed, I was able to successfully hide the ring in my golf bag, where I knew she would never look. I tried to play it off leading up to the engagement, even though I knew she was trying her best to sniff out any engagement plans. I tried my best to act as if I was going to propose on our annual fall Michigan trip (I even fooled a few of her friends thinking this was my plan). However, the week of the proposal, I think she began to suspect something was afoot. Her friend Kylie (shoutout Kylie G for the help), was visiting from Las Vegas and took Kristen to get her nails done (obviously they had to look good for ring pictures). I also got a haircut a few days prior to the proposal which I knew would make Kristen suspect something was up since I rarely cut my hair. I did my best to play it off as if nothing was going on. I still don’t know if I was very convincing (lol). I chose the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus as the spot that I wanted to propose at. It is a beautiful area of Columbus alongside the Scioto River. In college, Kristen and I would find ourselves there regularly, spending time on the swinging benches or walking along the riverfront and taking in the beautiful views of downtown. It is one of the many special places we have found together during our relationship, and now is just a few minutes from where we live in Franklinton. I told Kristen that we were going on a double date with my brother, Matt and his girlfriend Kenzie. I told her the plan was dinner, and then we would walk downtown to the Scioto Mile, where Matt, who “was trying to get back into photography” wanted to take a few photos of us “for fun.” Looking back on it, it doesn’t seem too convincing, but I was able to get Kristen to dress up with me for the big night. I was super nervous all day, carrying the ring in my pocket throughout the entire dinner date and evening was not the most enjoyable experience. After continually checking my pocket throughout the night to make sure the ring was still there, we made it downtown for the big moment. The original plan was to pose for pictures and I would get down on a knee and Kristen would then turn around and see me. That’s kinda how it worked…not really though. Matt got her to look at the camera and I got down on a knee and… waited and waited for what felt like 10 seconds (I think it was literally only 2 seconds), and then I tapped her on the elbow. And asked her to marry me!!! She said yes, we were all excited, The End. (We had a great time celebrating with family and friends the night of and the day after).

For years I teased Adam every chance we got about when we were going to get married, when would I get a ring? We both knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together so it was only out of love. Our five year anniversary was coming up in July of '23 and we were taking a little weekend getaway to Cincinnati just for fun. We got a cute little AirBnB and went to go see the Reds play. Early on in our relationship, Adam had said Cincinnati was the place he probably would propose to me at, since we had so many memories together of driving to baseball or ECHL hockey games for the night. But the weekend came and went. We had a blast, but I did not have a ring on my finger coming home from that trip. Our yearly trip to Michigan was coming up in the fall later that year and Adam had mentioned wanting to plan the entire thing himself.... which, if you know us at all, is VERY out of character. I am the planner and often love to make itineraries more than go on the actual vacation. Naturally, I thought that he was trying to be sneaky and that ACTUALLY he was going to propose in one of our favorite places. So I went and told everyone I could that I knew that's when he was going to propose. Before we even got to go on our trip, we went on a double date with Adam's brother Matt and his girlfriend Kenzie. We had a good time catching up and grabbing drinks. Adam suggested we walk down to the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus. I should've known when he suggested that that something was up since the Scioto Mile is also one the places filled with memories for us. We all walked across one of the bridges that had an amazing view of the city. We were just goofing around, taking pictures on Matt's camera. Then we stopped in the middle of the bridge to look at the city and next thing I know Adam is tapping me on the elbow trying to get me to look at him on his knee! Turns out he was, in fact, NOT proposing in Michigan! Adam was so nervous, he couldn't remember what all he had planned to say, but he asked me to spend the rest of our lives together and I gleefully said yes! Adam planned for our parents and siblings to meet us at a local brewery later on that evening. When we got home, Adam remembered what he wanted to say so we popped some champagne in bed and he told me everything. I was shocked, taken off guard, and thoroughly impressed at the fact that Adam kept all of this a secret and planned everything so well!