Happily. Ever. After.

It was the night of my work's Christmas party, and my bestie Courtney was my date. She was trying to convince me that we should go to Brass Tap and meet up with our friend Cason and company. I was hesitant but she was persistent and insisted we go for a few drinks with her fellow Gainesville locals. I caved and we headed to the brewery. The moment we arrived, Cason greeted me and quickly introduced me to his long time, best friend, Kyle. Kyle Bagen was a lawyer working for the best personal injury lawyer in Gainesville and Ocala, Florida. From that point on, he and I talked the rest of the night and instantly knew we had a connection. Little did I know that I had red lipstick on my teeth the entire night, which makes us smile and laugh to this day. We exchanged numbers and I went home to tell my mom that I met a "Randy" (my late step-father), and I came to find out that he went home to tell his parents all about this girl he met that was "someone special". Courtney and Cason still argue over whose idea it was to set us up to this day. 🍻

After a few meet ups at Gator's Dockside and Cold Stone, Kyle asked me out on our first date. With lots planned and surprises in store, he took me to Leonardo's 706 for my first time where we enjoyed dinner and one of my favorite preparations of salmon. As we were leaving the restaurant, he was carrying a metal canister that he had them fill with hot water. After a short ride, we arrive to a place that I had always admired but never enjoyed first hand. As we're parking, my eyes and heart lit up at the sight of the North Florida Regional Duck Pond Christmas Light Display. With music playing and lights dancing, he pulls out the hot water and some hot chocolate packets for us to enjoy as we took a stroll around the pond. We laughed, telling each other stories, jokes, and puns. One joke in particular he accidentally told backwards, and his reaction was funnier than the joke itself (the origin story of how he got his nickname from me). Before I knew it, this perfect night was coming to an end, but not before we shared our magical first kiss. 🎄

Fast forward almost 6 years: I went to get my nails done like I usually do, and he knew because it was in our shared calendar. We spent the whole day together. He was being super sweet and made me a snack because I was getting hangry and he wanted to wait to do dinner. He told me he would take me to Spark (our special place) if I went running with him or Chick-Fil-A if I didn’t. I told him I was fine with chicky nuggies... After A LOT of convincing, we went running. I showered and got ready for dinner, changing my outfit 3 times. Shoes twice. Meanwhile, he was playing with our fur baby Maggie on the bathroom floor. When I finished slipping on my heels, he says “Baby, I love you.” I say “I love you too baby." He replies “Can you do me a big favor before we go to dinner?" I go “Yea, what?”, to which he asks “Will you marry me?” I turn around, and he’s on one knee with the ring and our cat bearing witness to my overjoyed "YES!" 💍