We met on a summer Friday night- July 20th, 2018- at the Wild Rover bar in downtown Boston. Both of us had friends who loved this place, so we found ourselves there often. But we never met before this lucky day. Later in the evening, Austin introduced himself to Kendall. Right away he noticed a few things: she had the most beautiful eyes and smile he'd ever seen, she made him feel tall, and she was nearly finished with her Vodka Cranberry. She first noticed his perfect lip freckle, his kind, blue eyes, and the best laugh she'd ever heard. Austin bought another round for Kendall and her friend, Brittany. We spent the rest of the night talking and dancing. Then we exchanged numbers and parted ways. The next morning at 7AM, pretty much as soon as he woke up, Austin asked Kendall if she wanted to go get breakfast. She declined. However, we talked about the possibility of going to the bar again that night. Sure enough, when Austin texted Kendall that night, "Hey did you end up going out?" She said she did. She happened to be at ol' reliable Wild Rover, the same bar from the night before. Austin replied, "Awesome, I'm in line!" Moments later, Austin tapped Kendall on the shoulder and passed her a Vodka Cranberry. Kendall's friends immediately started interviewing Austin. Not long later, they came to one conclusion. "Kendall, he is perfect for you". We spent the whole weekend together until Kendall left to visit family in Kansas. When she came home, she didn't want to get her hopes up, but she mentioned to Austin that if he wasn't busy, it would be great if he could pick her up from the airport. She knew Austin was the one when she saw him waiting at baggage claim with a bouquet of purple flowers, eager to hear all about her trip to Kansas. As it turned out, nearly 6 years later, Austin and Kendall remain inseparable.

The first time we walked through Amory Park in Brookline, Kendall looked around at the trees, plants and flowers lining the path, the pond with docks on either side filled with fish and turtles, and the white stone gazebo arching over the walkway. Then she said, "Imagine getting engaged here someday..." That was all Austin needed to hear. When it was time for Austin to plan how he would propose to Kendall, he remembered this conversation. He also thought about the conversations we'd had about our families and stories we've shared, how much we care about them and how we thought they'd get along so well. Putting all of this together, it became clear that the perfect plan was to invite our parents and siblings from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other towns around Massachusetts to Amory Park for a surprise proposal. Thanks to our wonderful family, we made it happen on June 11, 2022. Twenty-plus family members stood on one side of the pond while Austin proposed to Kendall on the other. After she said yes (or whatever words came out), the photographer snapped pictures of us hugging and sobbing while the other side erupted in cheer. To Austin, the look on Kendall's face when she realized our families were there was priceless and worth every second of carrying out the alibi that we needed to walk through the park before "brunch with my parents." Afterwards, we all had lunch and celebrated together. It was an amazing day and a preview of what is to come next time we get together (with even more of us!) on June 7, 2024. Can't wait!