Alyssa and Aidan met on May 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Upon first meeting they became good friends, but strictly friends. It wasn't until Aidan let it slip that he may have feelings for her, did they even consider that their compatibility may extend beyond friendship. After that confession, a world of possibilities opened up for them. Alyssa had many opportunities early on to show her resilience and dedication to Aidan: they spent 10 months of their first year together in a long-distance relationship. Taking every chance they could to see each other (precious few because of the time demands presented by VMI), the distance brought them closer and made them earnestly count the minutes until Aidan graduated and returned to the city in which they fell in love.

Anyone who has met Aidan knows that he has the most considerate heart. He is always putting others' needs before his own. When it came to the question of how Aidan was going to propose to Alyssa, Aidan put in hours of research and effort into making it an engagement about which Alyssa couldn't even dream. The Jefferson Memorial Tidal Basin has always been a place to which Aidan and Alyssa gravitate. Over time, they naturally developed their spot. They shared many long walks to the Tidal Basin when they were falling in love, so of course it was a perfect venue to propose. Aidan planned everything perfectly, to the point that he made a Power Point presentation with step-by-step pictorial instructions for the photographer (of course he hired one) and a future groomsmen lending a hand (thanks Travis and Katherine). He even did a practice run (while actually on a run so Alyssa wouldn't notice). On the day of, Aidan had another groomsmen schedule happy hour drinks and mysteriously bail 25 minutes into drinks (thanks Matt and Christine). With two hours to go before Alyssa and Aidan's dinner reservation, whatever were they to do? Why not take a walk to the Tidal Basin. Aidan and Alyssa walked and talked, reminiscing on old memories and catching up on their weeks. Arriving at their spot, they took a seat on the bench and continued talking. After a time, Aidan dropped...the RING BOX! But Alyssa thought it was his phone. Seamlessly, Aidan swooped up the box and dropped from the bench down on one knee, and the rest of the story is between them...