We met at church one warm Sunday evening in the fall of 2017. Mindy was interested in volunteering to read scripture for our services and since this is one of the ministries that I help coordinate, we were introduced. Instantly, I was intrigued by her unique style and beautiful long dark hair. Fast forward to March 2018, when our mutual friends opened a coffee shop and we both happened to run into each other on the first day it opened. We had our first deep conversation there and we have been talking ever since.

I had three main goals for the proposal: 1. Propose at Tactile 2. Document the entire thing 3. Make it a surprise Three weeks before I proposed, I asked Mindy if she would be interested in being in a music video with me. She agreed and I said I would reach out to my cinematographer roommate, Bobby, to see when he was available. After locking down the date and securing the location, I reached out to Mindy to confirm that we would start our date night at Tactile. The "plan" was to film some b-roll and take a few photos to help promote my upcoming album. Mindy then proceeds to ask what she should wear - "What's the aesthetic? What colours? etc... I was caught completely off-guard, but thought I played it cool. I asked her to wear a dress, which I would later find out tipped her off that I might propose. Bobby and I arrive at Tactile around 5:30 pm and begin to set up the camera. Before I leave to pick up some dinner for Mindy, Mike and Eric (owners of Tactile) ask me if I want some music playing during the proposal. I immediately thought of "Passenger Seat" by Death Cab for Cutie. It's our song. Mindy arrives at the shop around 6:30 pm after a long day at work and the camera's rolling. I'm hiding behind the espresso bar and I can hear that she's in the shop. She looks over the bar to see if Eric or Mike are around, and I'm amazed that she didn't see me. After dropping off her change of outfits, Mindy is directed to read a note that I had left for her. She loves handwritten notes, and I didn't trust myself to be able to say all that I wanted to say. After she finished reading the note, I appeared from behind the bar and got down on one knee. She was so shocked that I had to ask her twice. After that, we walked down the street to one of our favourite bars, Genever, to thank them for a bottle of champagne. What Mindy didn't know is that 30 of our friends were waiting there to yell "surprise!" It was a perfect start to our engagement.