Radek and Ari met in August 2009, within the first week of arriving at Lehigh University. Radek and his freshman-year roommate were playing ping-pong in one of the Dravo dorm lounges and, as chance would have it, Ari and another girl from her hall were wandering around Dravo looking to meet new people and popped into that same lounge. Ari and Radek became fast friends and spent the rest of their time at Lehigh as such; taking business minor courses (and writing terribly co-authored papers), enjoying Chicken Finger Friday for lunch, eating dinner at Rathbone, and spending a lot of time with their D23 crew watching Lost and Jersey Shore (and maybe going to a party or two somewhere in there). It wasn't until 2015 when they officially started dating and, as they say, the rest is history.

Weekend date-nights are a favorite time of the week, since Radek usually travels for work Monday through Thursday. It was Radek's turn to plan, so earlier in the week he suggested they go to a new-ish spot in the West Loop that came recommended by Ari's best friend. Radek made a reservation at "The Library", a quiet room at The Darling. It was an earlier reservation then they'd usually get, but Ari just assumed that was the only time available. Throughout the night, Radek refused to let go of his jacket which was a little strange, but Ari didn't think too much about it. Radek had flowers on the table when they got there and Ari just thought he was listening when she said she liked when he got her flowers. When a bottle of champagne came at the end of the meal, Ari was a little confused and told the waiter they hadn't ordered champagne. Radek got down on one knee and Ari immediately started crying and said "YES". Radek suggested they go to their favorite bar, The Allis, to continue their celebrations, but Ari tried to stay at the Darling, wanting to finish the champagne and revel in their engagement. Eventually Radek convinced her to leave, and they got to the Allis to find friends and family waiting to continue the celebrations! It was a perfect night!