Rewind four months before the engagement, January 22, Emily scrambled to find a birthday present for Andy. She decided to give him a Trek Travel cycling trip-Andy picked "Wine Country," meaning four days of cycling in wine country. Cycling for Andy. Wine for Emily. And what was even more perfect was that the trip fell on their seventh dating anniversary. Andy decided that this was it-he was going to pop the question. He booked a tour at a vineyard and a photographer to capture the moment. The big day was the second day of the trip with an infamous climb in the middle. Needless to say, Emily was nervous about making it to the tour on time. But Andy seemed very relaxed all day-in fact, when the guides suggested that Andy and Emily do an "extra credit" climb at the beginning of the ride, he set off with Emily huffing behind him, growing more concerned that they were going to be late. Andy lost his calm demeanor when they hit that infamous climb and Emily started to crack. At one point, Andy said "if we continue at this pace, it will take us an hour to get to the top"-Emily snapped back (gasping) "Not helpful!" Finally, when Emily was moving so slowly she was worried she would fall over, she bailed and turned around to wait for Andy, who took off to reach the top (he was also growing worried that they were going to be very late). After sprinting back to the hotel, Andy and Emily cleaned up. Andy sneakily moved the ring from his bag to his pocket, and they were off to the vineyard, arriving right on time. At the start of the tour, they walked into the vineyard, and their guide, Duff, explained the climate and the grapes. Emily looked at Andy who seemed to be staring aimlessly, so Emily told him to start taking pictures. Suddenly, Andy became very bossy, telling Emily to move to a particular spot. She turned around (somewhat annoyed) to Andy on his knee saying "I've been ready to do this for a few years, will you marry me?" After some laughing, she said yes!

Andy and Emily discovered the Brainerd area while attending the University of Minnesota Law School and fell in love with Brainerd's lakes and beautiful scenery. And they hope their guests will too! It is a bit of trek for everyone, so Andy and Emily hope the guests will take advantage of the trip and come a few days early to take in all that the area has to offer!