We met in band in school, so technically we’ve known each other since 8th grade. We both played alto saxophone in marching band and were in the same section for all of high school. However, we weren’t close friends until we became drum majors (the student conductors) of the marching band with our dear friend, Laurel. Our first kiss was on January 1, 2019 at Laurel’s New Year’s party (it turns out everyone was conspiring to make it happen), and we’ve been together ever since. On March 2, 2024 we went to the St. Louis Art Museum during their Art in Bloom exhibit, and we got engaged just outside next to the pond on a beautiful, early-spring day. That same week, we moved into our first apartment together in St. Charles where we currently live with our dog, Adonis (Donny). We are so excited to celebrate our adventures with friends and family this coming fall!

I was so excited that “we” had made plans for a weekend roughly two weeks prior because we hardly ever make plans in advance. Austin asked me if I wanted to go to the Art in Bloom exhibit at the art museum on Saturday (of course I did, it’s flowers). We decided we’d also go to IKEA to help furnish our soon-to-be first apartment and we remembered BLK MKT Eats, one of Austin’s favorite restaurants downtown, was in the area, so we thought we would go there, too, for lunch. The Thursday before “our plans”, work asked me if I could come in over the weekend for a quick project. I didn’t think much of it, so I said I would and Austin and I could just move our plans back a little later in the day. But when I told Austin he got really quiet (moving things around was of course a big deal, but he couldn’t tell me why). The day of, he double checked that I could be ready to go by 10:30… three separate times. But I suspected nothing. Shortly before he arrived to get me, my sister came downstairs fully ready for the day in a nice striped shirt. This was a bit unusual since she usually likes to sleep in. But, you know, mom would be up soon and would probably ask her tons of questions all about her day, so she didn’t need me to ask her a bunch too… right? Then Austin came up to the front door, we said goodbye to my sister and the dog, and we were off. In the car, he told me he didn’t want to wear his signature beanie since it was getting warm outside (I later learned he thought I’d be suspicious, but he just wanted to look nice for the pictures). We got to the museum and Austin said many times that he’d never seen it so busy before. The Art in Bloom exhibit was beautiful. Some of the flower arrangements had beautiful smells and all were lovely interpretations of the art they were designed to reflect. I was so close to asking Austin if we could slow down because a few of the pieces we merely walked past. But you know, I was getting hungry for lunch, and I assumed he was too.However, when we made it through the whole exhibit, he suggested that we walk around the lake outside since it was such a beautiful day. I specifically mentioned I thought he was walking fast to get to lunch but he said (get this) “oh I forgot about that.” Still, I suspected nothing. The breeze was cool but the sun kept us warm. On the other side of the lake, I thought I saw someone with a striped shirt that caught my attention but then a family walked by with a fluffy dog, so I was distracted and forgot about the person. Now in the middle of the lake, Austin grabbed his phone (I later learned that it was to text Caroline to be ready with her camera) and says that here would be a great spot for a picture. I was actually thinking the same thing, and we never take pictures so I agreed. Still, I suspected nothing. He then said “Oh look at that cool dog over there!” So I did (I know, I know, I can’t believe this worked either). There was, in fact, a dog, but we had already seen that dog. I was even the one that pointed it out for crying out loud. I turned back to tell him this only to find him there on one knee. I don’t remember a word of what he said and neither does he. He tells me he completely forgot his speech in the moment, but I didn’t care, I was ready to say yes before he was done. We hugged and a few scattered groups of people around the lake were cheering for us. Afterwards, we met around the corner with Caroline who had been hiding out across the lake (in her stripy shirt) to take the picture (there was even a pdf with a map of where everyone would be standing). The whole afternoon felt like some strange holiday. I love him so much.