His: I got a notification late in the evening that I had a new match on Bumble. I opened the app, & was greeted by the pic of a very pretty blonde girl with blue eyes (neither of which were her natural colors), who went to Bama. Very shortly after, I got a message from her (ladies on Bumble have to move first). After a brief conversation, we said goodnight & I promised to message her the next day. I decided to play hard-to-get & waited until later in the afternoon to message her. She offered me her number as "the app drained her cell battery". Conversation once again flowed & she, making the first move again, asked me to get drinks later that night. I had plans to watch the Stanley Cup finals with a friend (hi Russ!). Not wanting to bail on my friend. I invited her to join (and bring a friend for Russ.. obviously). She politely declined, preferring a 1:1 meeting for the first date. As the conversation was so good....& she was very pretty... I immediately abandoned the Bro code, ditched my friend (sorry Russ) & agreed to meet her for drinks.... Hers: Lying in bed, swiping away & I was brought to a halt by a charming picture of a handsome man holding a pumpkin. In his next picture, he was holding an adorable miniature of himself (Dylan <3). I hesitated for a moment but decided to put my preconceived notions aside. He was very handsome & there was something about his smile. I swiped right, got an instant match notification, & immediately sent the first message- the smoothest line I know: "Heyy! How's it going?" We talked about Bama football, height, bowling, & pursuing a dream job. I was excited to hear from him the next day... & then he made me wait...Once he did finally message me, I lied about the app draining my battery & gave him my number (super smooth). We chatted briefly before I asked him to go for drinks... he agreed to bail on plans with a friend (sorry Russ) & meet up with me that night... First date: 06.13.16 @ Buffalo Wild Wings (& so it began)

Hers: I had a feeling it was coming & i knew I would ruin it if I didn't go with the flow & just say yes to everything. So when Brian said he wanted to go to dinner with friends in Point Pleasant in late November... I said yes. When we arrived an hour earlier than our meeting time & he asked if I wanted to walk on the Boardwalk in 34 degree weather... I said yes. As we were walking towards the end of the boardwalk, overlooking the Manasquan inlet, I saw a couple of people on the benches, one holding flowers! As we got closer I realized I didn't know any of them & thought for the first time in my life... "maybe I was wrong". As we sat on the bench, we watched the children of the two couples behind us get engaged on the beach. I thought "what are the chances?!" and turned laughing to Brian,. He looked at me, smiled and said "well this will make for a funny story"... he got down on his knee, opened the ring box...and I said "YES"....followed quickly by "WAIT! You have to ask me!". He choked out the words... and I again said yes! His: I decided to propose to her at my favorite spot at the end of the Point Pleasant Boardwalk, overlooking the Manasquan inlet... but knew she would be suspicious. As a cover, I told her we were meeting my friend Gary & his wife Sarah for dinner at The Shrimp Box. When we arrived about an hour too early, I suggested we walk the boardwalk to kill some time. We got to THE spot at the end & sat on a bench overlooking the water. I planned to wait out the people already there, & ask in private... but while I was waiting, looking out on the beach, another couple got engaged right in front of us. I thought "you've GOT to be kidding me". As I sat there with the ring burning a hole in my pocket, weighing my options and wondering if following another proposal would be the right move, I decided that it would actually make a great story & so I turned to her & said exactly that as I dropped to my knee speechless and Sam took it from there

Everyone's engagement story is special. A personal moment between two people promising forever to each other. And typically this is not something a couple wants to share with another couple. But truthfully, it didn't matter to us- we got what we wanted and so did the other couple! Well... almost. You see, the other couple had hired a photographer to capture their moment. Unfortunately, due to a bit of resistance on the girls part, the guy had to drop to his knee in an unplanned spot and so the photographer missed their moment entirely. As Brian did not plan a photographer, there was no missing the moment and we were both okay with just taking our post-engagement photo/selfie and running to the car to call our family and friends. The next day we celebrated in turns with our families, basking in the glow of our new engagement..and the shine from the ring! After Thanksgiving dinner with the Vogelsang family, we moved to the Konkowski family for dessert. While sitting on the couch, watching football, Brian's father strides into the room declaring "WE'VE GOT SPIES EVERYWHERE" and waving his phone about, showing a clear image of two individuals sitting on a bench in Point Pleasant. As fate would have it, the parent's of the other couple took a moment away from their own children's engagement to capture ours. When they missed us leaving the boardwalk before they could share with us, they decided to post the photos on Facebook and asked their friends to share it far and wide. 20 mins and 16 shares later, it reached a mutual friend of Brian's father and we got the AMAZING picture below! Not only did we have the perfect proposal, but thanks to the kindness of Thomas & Jessica's parents, we now have the moment in time captured forever in the most perfect picture we could've asked for!