A few online messages turned into seven months of getting to know each other before our first date in February of 2020. A day of cuban sandwiches, machine guns and action movies turned into something neither of us would have ever expected. Four years, two states and almost seventeen thousand miles of driving brought us here, and we are more than excited for where the next chapter of our lives takes us.

After 3 years of day trips, joke proposals with Ring Pops and hints to go on a picnic, I finally had a plan. We went down to a little cove on Clark's Hill Lake, read a book, relaxed in hammocks and tried valiantly (but without luck) to catch a fish. As the afternoon wore on, I broke out a little grill, cooked supper and sneakily queued up the perfect playlist. I had it timed just right, we would finish eating and I would wait for "Can't Help Falling in Love" to fade out and then just as the first chorus of Train's "Marry Me" started, I would get on one knee and pop the question. I pulled out the ring a full minute too early, she was crying, I was nervous, but it was perfect. And then we were engaged.