"A small chef salad with ranch and french dressing". The ticket printed at the salad table, the order was ready in a few minutes and "Alison!" echoed into the dining room. That day, in the kitchen at Fat Jack's Spencerville Road, a romance would begin. We had an immediate attraction, but were intimidated by each other at the same time. We were both Fat Jack's employees - I had worked at Spencerville Road for quite awhile and Joe was there to cover a shift - borrowed from the West Street Fat Jack's. He did his best to play it cool around me and we kept our talks short. As time went on, Joe began to spend more time at the Spencerville Road store, covering a shift here and there, but more often as a patron of the bar. A deep friendship grew as we began to spend more time together, hanging out at work and with friends at local bars. Then there were the after parties at my apartment - legendary dance-offs, drinking games, long talks on the balcony, and Joe spending some uncomfortable nights sleeping on the couch. We learned a lot about each other on that balcony and a deeper connection grew. Things changed when Joe decided to venture out and left Fat Jack's behind. He explored a new opportunity but missed the friendships he made there. A year passed before he made his way back to Fat Jack's, this time permanently placed at the Spencerville Road store. Our deep attraction continued and it wasn't long before there were thoughts of turning our friendship into something more. Joe finally made his move and we began officially dating. We fell in love and soon we moved in to our first apartment together. We rescued our sweet dog, RC and together we became a family! It has been four amazing years with the man of my dreams and we are both so excited to start this new chapter of our lives!

It was August 25th, 2018, Ali's birthday. We headed off to our favorite spot in Hocking Hills, the Blue Canoe Cottage, for a quiet week away. We stopped at the grocery once we arrived to get all of the food we needed for the week and a special treat for myself, a box of ice cream sandwiches. (My "obsession" of the week, as Ali refers to it, were those ice cream sandwiches!) We had an amazing week away, but it was coming to an end. Ali always said she would know when a proposal was coming, so “challenge accepted!” I had to make it a surprise. When I woke up on our last full day at the cottage, I felt nervous. I knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, I knew I loved her more than words could express, and I knew that asking Ali to be my partner for the rest of my life was the easiest decision I would ever make. I didn't know how nervous I would be. After dinner at a nearby restaurant, we came back to the cottage. While Ali walked around the deck to the back to enjoy the setting sun for the last time, I went inside and quickly grabbed the little blue box that I had hidden away. I slid the back door open and there she was. I stood behind her, looking out at the sunset. This was it, the moment that our lives would change forever. All the words I thought I could use in this moment left my mind, so I rambled off something that I thought would sound romantic. Ali was instantly confused by my sweet words, much too sweet for a normal conversation on the back porch. She turned around, looked at me and noticed my hand behind my back. She scoffed and said "Ugh, is it another ice cream sandwich?" Luckily, her comment made me laugh and my nerves started to disappear. Instinctively, I backed up, knelt down and asked her to marry me. Laughing and crying she just kept saying - "Are you serious right now?!" Although unsure whether she ever actually said the word, through the tears, I knew her answer was "Yes!" Soon I will marry my best friend...