We met through our mutual friends on a night out during our time in grad school at Emory. After somehow not crossing paths for the first semester of school, we found ourselves at the same events every weekend for the next several weeks until we began dating after our grad school formal.

A few days after our dating anniversary, we had planned to celebrate with brunch, ice skating, and an evening out. Little did Ava know, Gerard had made some other plans as well. After we went skating in downtown Pittsburgh, much against Ava's preference to avoid winter activities, we walked home along the riverfront, a spot we regularly visit in our neighborhood, where Gerard got down on one knee and proposed!