When people ask me how Chris and I met, I like to say that Ashleigh introduced us. Because she did. Kinda. She was holding my phone at the time, swiping through guys for me on Bumble while I looked at her account bio. I was just in the middle of trying to figure out how to add her love of peanut butter and her love of Buffalo in the same sentence when I head her say, “Oh, you like Superman.” And Chris and I matched. I reached out to him, we started chatting, and we didn’t stop. The next day, I asked him on a date. That night. He said yes so I suggested we meet up at World of Beer in the mall. Except, he told me that he was on a bodybuilding diet so he couldn’t drink and he couldn’t eat out. ….. What the heck do you do on a date if you can’t eat or drink!? We ended up meeting up at Niawanda park and walking by the river instead. We started talking and walking as the bright sunshine sparkled off the water next to us, and we kept talking and walking until well after sunset. Five hours later, and we only stopped chatting because the mosquitos drove us away.

On our second date, while I was kicking Chris’ butt in Rummy, I asked him to describe himself in one word. The word he chose was “wholesome.” I tease him about it, but the longer we’re together the more I realize that it’s true. Maybe that’s the reason he really stinks at keeping secrets. It’s ok. I do too. Fast forward two years and I’m going to get my nails done. It’s the beginning of July, and I wanted to treat myself after a stressful week. “Just don’t get anything dumb, like flags on your nails. You’ll regret it.” Oh yeah? Why am I going to regret it Chris? Hmmmmm? That, (and a few other things) tipped me off. So I went to the salon, found a picture of American flag nails and sent it to Chris as a prank. Chris was not amused. But he still wanted to marry me, so that’s a plus.

We made dinner plans for a random Wednesday. His brother and sister-in-law were in town so we were going to go out with them. But before that, I got a text from Katie saying that she had gotten a horseback riding class as a present. She told me that she was supposed to go with her boyfriend, but he backed out at the last minute. Apparently he was scared of horses but too proud to admit it. I love horseback riding, and I don’t get to do it nearly as much as I’d like, so I made sure it wouldn’t interrupt dinner plans and I left. Now, since Katie is a photographer, and the place we were at is also a wedding venue, she asked me to bring a dress so she could take some sample photos and maybe be a preferred photographer for the venue. Sounds weird, but in our relationship, it really isn’t. So she picked me up and we went to the farm. We saddled our horses and went around the training ring, and after we were comfortable, we went out for a trail ride. Just before the trail, there was a huge, gorgeous house. Katie said we should change and take pictures before we got all sweaty, so we did. We walked outside and she was showing me how beautiful the place was, and as she was taking me on the mini-tour we walked up a little hill in the back. Behind the house was a cute little pond with a gazebo in the middle, and standing in the gazebo was Chris with a bouquet of flowers. Naturally, I started crying and it was all a blur. I don’t remember exactly what I said when he got down on one knee. But I do remember that he told me that he didn’t want me to be his girlfriend anymore, he wanted me to be his wife, and asked me to marry him. According to Katie, I saw the ring and said “that is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, put it on my finger.” He took it as a “yes.”

I had Chris read this over before I added this section, so I'm actually betting that he won't read this twice. Unless one of you tattles. But here's the thing. I'm a gushy person. Super into my feelings. And I'm going to get married. So not only am I allowed to gush about my man, you'll probably read it and think "aww." Here's the thing. Chris is the best man that I've ever met. And that's saying A LOT if you met my family. They're amazing. And Chris is something extra special. It's amazing to meet a person who balances you out. Who supports you in ways that you never thought to ask for, and who is goofy and ridiculous in the same way as you. I work with words all day long, but it's really hard to describe the way I feel when I think about him. Though, I do have an inkling that if you've found your special person, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.