The Future Von Ahnen's

While working at Yelp in Washington D.C., our relationship started in friendship. John would tell me jokes (some good, some not so good) in the hallways and he never failed to brighten my day. I started having to find casual ways to bump into him to chat. That is until I didn't have to anymore when John joined the Yelp soccer team I started. He hadn't played a day of soccer in his life...yet, he somehow impressed me with his athleticism. Another night in the city went by and I used my wily ways to impress John with my salsa dancing moves at a local bar. That solidified it. We were each other's work crush.

Blair will tell you she “saw the whole thing coming,” but anyone who knows her knows she is full of it. Thanks to my elaborate ruse, Blair believed the two of us were headed to the mountains alone. What she didn’t know was both of our families were already there. A few months before, I asked Charlie for his blessing. I thought that would be the most nerve-wracking part. I was confident Blair would say yes, I mean, of course she would..right? But, the night before I couldn’t sleep I thought about every reason why she might say no and I began planning my escape to New Zealand. Just playing it cool. The plan was to leave by 10 for a hike because Broun would already be waiting on the hike, hiding, to take pictures. Probably the biggest sign that something was going on was when I demanded we go on this hike that we’ve done 100 times at exactly 10am, but again I PLAYED IT COOL. We drove to the Cascade trail in Warm Springs, VA. I knew exactly at what bridge I was going to “pop the question.” Before getting to the bridge, I couldn’t speak I was so nervous. Blair ranted about her friends or bunnies or I don’t know some Blair conversation. But, anyone that knows Blair knows she could hold a full conversation completely by herself, so it was fine. This was it, it’s go time. I was thinking about how I wanted to ask Blair. I lost my Grandfather a few months earlier. I thought about my grandparent's 65 years together. Nanny would say “I was lucky enough to marry my best friend. It’s important to love AND to like the person you end up with.” It might sound cheesy but I felt that way about Blair the first night we went salsa dancing together and my face hurt the next morning from smiling & laughing. So, that’s what I told her. Both our families were there to surprise her and to celebrate after. Starting with photographer Broun jumping out of the trees. So far, I can honestly say it was the best weekend of my life. And now, we all get to party together in September – cheers.