Allison and I were both living in Baltimore, MD and working our first post-college jobs away from our Midwestern roots. As chance would have it, I was working with Allison’s roommate Stephanie and had developed a good friendship. One spring day, Stephanie mentioned that her and her roommate, Allison, were hosting a “girl scout cookie and wine pairing party” at their house and I should come by. I wasn’t sure if that sounded like the best idea for a pairing, but it did seem like a good time and I said I’d be there! When I showed up at the party I was greeted by Stephanie and her cute and very energetic roommate who shouted, “I’m Allison nice to meet you!” the moment I stepped in the door. I found her to be surprisingly enthusiastic to meet me and being a typical guy, I didn’t understand that Stephanie had been telling Allison about me for a while and how she thought we’d be a good match. The party was a ton of fun with cookies, wine and lots of laughs. That was the first thing I noticed about Allison, just how much she liked to use her big, bursting, room filling laugh. It also helped that her best friend and future maid of honor, Jess, was at the party too to keep Al laughing. The cookie and wine party ended as well as any reasonable person would have expected, with lots of upset stomachs. I left that night knowing I had made some good friends and was excited to spend more time getting to know Allison. As the weeks and months went by, we would all hang out together and I got more quality Allison time. I learned that her laughter doesn’t stop, she LOVES the office like I do, and was a kind and down to earth soul. Our friendship grew into the “is this a date or just two friends hanging out” phase until eventually, both of us figured out that we had something special. The rest, as they say, is history.

On Allison and David's first visit to Chicago, they went for a walk on an old elevated railroad track that had been converted to a running path and had breakfast at a well-known spot in the neighborhood called Mindy's Hot Chocolate. At that time, there was a lot in motion for the couple as Allison was planning to move to Chicago for graduate school that fall, while David had recently bought a home in Baltimore. However, as time would tell, these life events didn't keep them apart for long. Fast forward two years later, and that same walk and restaurant would be part of the big day when David asked Allison to spend the rest of her life with him. On a Saturday morning walk to what Allison thought was just another weekend brunch date, David got down on one knee at an overlook on the running path, catching Allison by complete surprise! As Allison slowly came back down to earth from the excitement and overwhelming joy, they continued to walk to the restaurant where David had secretly arranged for both of their parents to be waiting. The six of them enjoyed yet another delicious breakfast at Mindy's and celebrated the wonderful news!