We met at Eastern Illinois University in 2016. Allie was a sophomore and Tyler was a Junior. Allie was attending a party at Tyler's fraternity house for homecoming week. We started talking and exchanged phone numbers. From that night, we were constantly hanging out and introducing each other to our friends at EIU.
After three months of getting to know each other, Tyler asked Allie to be his girlfriend on December 23, 2016! We were on our way to a Sylvester's cousins Christmas party. Allie was so excited to introduce Tyler to her family as her new boyfriend. Every single cousin of Allie's accepted Tyler right off that bat. It was like he had been apart of the family for years.
In July 2021, we purchased our first home together! It was the perfect opportunity for us to move-in after living at home for two years post college graduation. Over the last two years of living together, we have filled our home with so many memories with our friends and family.
On December 16, 2022, Tyler got down on one knee and proposed to Allie. The night was absolutely perfect as it was just the two of us at our home. Tyler took Allie to Krapils Steakhouse for dinner followed by ice skating. After ice skating, Tyler asked Allie if she wanted to add more ornaments to their Christmas tree. Allie was going to town adding ornaments to the tree. She was completely oblivious to the fact that Tyler had placed a diamond ring right on the center branch of the tree. About ten minutes had passed by without Allie noticing. Tyler placed a giraffe ornament right next to the ring hoping Allie would finally notice it. He kept saying, "isn't that giraffe ornament cool?" Allie looked at the ornament and thought to herself, why does he keep talking about this random giraffe ornament! About a minute later, Allie finally noticed the ring! She turns around and saw Tyler on one knee. So much love and joy was filled in that moment, we will never forget it. We opened a bottle of champagne and called all of our closest friends and family. It was truly a special night.