We are finally getting married. Come celebrate with us!

Love at first sight? That's nice and all, but we thought we'd do things a little differently. One of the craziest things about life is how many people you pass by on a daily basis without knowing their story, their life. One day, a stranger becomes your best friend and you can't even remember a time when you would just pass them by. They were strangers for ten years of childhood, knowing at most each others' names. They were both in the middle school talent show: Faith sang with her friends and Barney chugged two bottles of Gatorade, just passing each other by. Variety show 2015, Barney was the lead of the Charming Quartet, and Faith was Cruella de Vil, just casual observers of other performances. When did things change? In 2016, during The King and I musical set build, Barney suddenly got the urge to tap on Faith's shoulder and ask her name (he knew, but couldn't think of anything better to say). Faith started looking for him at musical to get a little time with him before rehearsing. A perfectly timed snow day off school created a chance for Barney to ask Faith out; he messaged her for the first time over Facebook Messanger and pleaded for her help to pick out an outfit for his All State Choir audition. While super excited to spend time with him, Faith didn't realize it was a date until Barney suggested lunch out after a fashionable trip to Kohls. He kissed her for the first time that day, (one better at kissing than the other), and little did those two know they would end up getting engaged and married. Maybe this was love at first sight after all. They didn't really see each other, but when they finally did, they would never let each other go again.

This proposal was a complete surprise to Faith. It was wonderful, thoughtful, and romantic. And was nearly ruined on multiple occasions. Let's take it back to Barney buying the ring. He bought it months before he proposed, hiding it nearly in plain sight. Faith was just too oblivious to notice of course. However, that could have changed in an instant with some of Barney's hiding spots. A few of the best (and worst) hiding spots were in the center console of the car they shared and in the bottom drawer of Barney's dresser (Faith does most of the laundry folding...). Yet she never found it by some miracle. Barney had the ring, and now he was ready for the next step. He was going to ask Faith's parents, Bobbi and Mike, for permission. Barney left home in Madison one weekend, telling Faith he was going to visit his mom while Faith had to work. This was true, he didn't lie. He visited his mom. However, he made an extra stop while he was up north. He drove the extra half hour to New Franken and showed up at the Flynn household. Bobbi and Mike thought it was a nice surprise, though a little confused that Faith wasn't with Barney. That was when Barney got serious. He said that he wasn't just there to visit. He said he hit hard times: he needed to borrow money. Bobbi and Mike's smiles dropped instantly. They got concerned and started to reply when Barney burst out laughing. He said that he couldn't help but make a joke before he pulled out the ring and asked if he could marry their daughter. They of course said yes and celebrated. Brendan, playing video games downstairs, came upstairs to see what the loud noises were about. He didn't hear anything about the proposal or see the ring. All he knew was Barney stopped by and Faith wasn't with! Weird... The week after, Faith is still oblivious until...she gets a text from her brother. It simply was a text wondering why Barney stopped to visit and not her. Faith had no idea about Barney stopping and was very confused. She confronted Barney, and thank goodness Barney is quick on his feet. He said that after visiting his mom, since he was nearby, he just said hi quickly to her family before heading home. Faith fully believed this not-lie and that was that. Another disaster evaded. Brendan will be reminded of this accidental spoiler until the end of time. Barney told a few people about the ring beside her parents. This is the last chance for the universe to try and ruin the proposal. Barney told one of Faith's best friends, Ruby. Ruby was so excited, but she promised to keep the secret. She almost kept the secret too well. The week before Barney's planned proposal, Faith had a few friends over, including Ruby. The group of them were in college at the time, so the night started to get a little rowdy after a couple of drinks got into everyone. Both Faith and Ruby got their ears pierced by another one of their friends; it was just that kind of a night! Later in the night, Faith tipsily announced that she wanted to dye her hair. She was choosing between a bright pink and a deep blue color. Ruby had completely forgotten what was going to happen in one week and wholeheartedly supported Faith's decision to dye her hair. Faith ended up settling on the blue color, and Barney found out the next day when he beheld the new do to his surprise. It did turn out okay because the color looked pretty natural and was done well despite being done around midnight by a bunch of college girls. Crisis averted, but Barney and Faith will never let Ruby live this one down!

It was Valentine's weekend 2021, and Faith and Barney had just spent a great time in the Wisconsin Dells to celebrate their date-iversary (Feb. 2nd) and Valentine's Day all in one with a budget hotel, dinner at their favorite Dells restaurant, the Dells Distillery, and an evening destroying their bank accounts at the Wilderness' Arcade. Faith was having so much fun, she asked Barney if they could stay an extra night--they only had the hotel Friday night and were going to head back to Madison the next day. Why not find a cheap place to stay another night and continue the fun? Barney adamantly said they needed to go home, saying their kitties needed them in order to convince Faith. She ended up agreeing (though not wholeheartedly), and they drove home after a quick breakfast and a stop at Fawn Creek Winery for some free wine glasses. They spent the day having a normal lazy weekend afternoon in, watching tv and enjoying each others' company. Faith kept grumbling that they certainly had nothing to come back for and could have spent another night in the Dells. As if coming up with the idea on the spot, Barney announced that he wanted to take Faith out for dinner in order to make up for it. Faith loves food, and she LOVES free food, so she of course agreed. She asked where Barney was planning on taking them. There was a restaurant not too far from their apartment they'd been talking about going to since they moved to Madison called the Echo Tap and Grill. It was meant to be a little cold out, so they bundled up in coats and hats and gloves. The first step out of the apartment had Faith really second-guessing going out to eat. It wasn't cold--it was FREEZING. The high temperature on February 13th, 2021 was about 2 degrees. However, Barney insisted it wasn't too far and lightly suggested that Faith stop being a baby. They started on their way, Faith walking particularly briskly. As they walked, Faith watched as Barney missed the turn to get to Echo Tap, and she was quick to mention that he was going the wrong way. Barney insisted that the way he was going was similar, and he wanted to go down memory lane a little and stroll past Ogg Hall, where Faith had lived her Freshman year. Faith shivered and agreed, continuing to walk quite fast. As they neared Ogg, Faith failed to note how sappy Barney was starting to get. He was talking about all their old memories in the area. About how he used to come visit downtown all the time, and how he would have to park in the Smith Hall parking lot. He reminisced on how Faith never wanted him to leave so she would walk him all the way down, through the tunnel under the commuter path and to the parking garage. He was recounting this as they approached the tunnel, but Faith was a little distracted. She noticed a small group of people at the end of the tunnel not really moving and all huddled together. "Barney, that looks like a bunch of like homeless people or something. Let's move around them." Barney did no such thing and kept walking straight ahead while Faith was attempting to give the group a wide berth. However as they neared the end, the group of hobos turned around to reveal themselves as Faith's entire family (including Cassie via FaceTime) as well as Barney's mom and sister. Faith was elated by this surprise. She thought excitedly that they were coming with to dinner. That was when they started smiling mischievously and told her to turn around. In her confusion, she did. To find the love of her life on his knee. Shivering in the cold, Barney stuttered out the words, and with tears freezing to her face, Faith barely could get her response out. The rest is history.