I (Barbara's) had recently returned back to New Orleans after a long international trip; I was tired and I had a ton of unpacking still to do, but I knew I wanted to go to a friend's event that night. It was great seeing everyone but after a couple of hours I was getting ready to leave when all of a sudden the most handsome guy at the party came over and we started talking about everything from tamales to traveling and realized we had so much in common. It felt like everything clicked in that conversation. Jetlag was starting to hit and we had to cut our evening short and I went home dreaming of this handsome guy who I just met. As soon as we went on our first date we realized that we had so much more than just hobbies in common; we also had several mutual friends and we couldn't believe that we hadn't met before! We knew that timing was everything though and that we wouldn't have been able to pursue a relationship had we met earlier. We're glad that we trusted the timing in our lives and are now with the love of our life as we start our forever journey!

I decided I wanted to propose to the most incredible woman I've ever met. I think, it needs to be somewhere romantic and grand, right? Fitting. So I take her on a roadtrip through the Appalachian Mountains. Four thousand miles of me being a nervous, sweaty mess with her grandmother's ring in my pocket. Today is the day, after all the driving and roadtrip mishaps, we hike up a 4,700 foot mountain in North Carolina in the middle of summer. My tripod broke along the trail and aggravation with that and the heat was becoming obvious to us both. Barbara took a break on a boulder overhanging the mountain face and I knew this is my chance. After fumbling with the camera and perching it precariously on a stick and rock overhanging the mountain, I fell to one knee and presented her grandmother's ring. She said "Yes!" and we walked down that mountain as an engaged couple with boundless potential and bright path ahead.