A swipe right and a simple "Hey!" was the very start. After a couple of months of here and there chatting - we finally had our first date January 9, 2021 at North High Brewing in Dublin. Tyler picked me up with a dozen red roses and opened all the doors. It was a first date like neither of us expected- almost as if we had been on 100 dates previously. It was easy, and it made sense. After dinner, we drove around looking at houses, and on the way back to my apartment, Tyler asked me to be his girlfriend, and the answer was an easy "yeah!" Things progressed relatively quickly from there. I met Tyler's brother Cole & (his fiancee at the time, now wife) Hailey on our second date, Tyler met my brother, Adam a couple weeks later, my parents a couple weeks after that, and I met Tyler's parents by the end of February. There was never a question, doubt, or hesitation.

It was a beautiful day on July 23, 2022. I had plans with Hailey to go shopping, and Tyler had "plans" with Cole to go golfing. Afterwards we were all planning on checking out the house and progress being made and head to dinner after. Well, after shopping Hailey and I headed to the house, and after trying the locked door in the garage, we headed to the front door. When I opened the door, I saw a trail of rose petals leading to Tyler standing in the middle a heart made of roses (ask Tyler and Cole about their artistic abilities). I don't remember much of what Tyler said other than "I couldn't think of a better place to ask you to forever in the home we will start our forever in." Again, an easy "yeah" from me and the rest is history! I don't do surprises well, but this one was executed to perfection!

January 26, 1946 is the day that Louise and Robert Pflum, Abbie's maternal grandparents, were married in northeastern France, an area ravaged by WWII. Louise, as the oldest child of her family went to work deciphering and sending morse code transactions on the railroad in order to help support the family after her father was killed in a bombing. Robert, an American soldier, was sent to Louise's hometown near the end of the war and the train station is where they met. Robert would bring her family his extra rations in an effort to win over Louise's mom - she especially loved when he would bring peanut butter. Before he came back to the US - Robert asked Louise to marry him. She dyed his wool army blanket purple and used it to make her own wedding dress before saying "I do." A very special couple, and an incredible set of grandparents. They taught Abbie how to cook, bake, play cards, enjoy the simple things and good whiskey, and how family and friends are what matter most. I was fortunate enough to introduce Tyler and grandma before she passed in June of 2021, where she gave her stamp of a approval and told me to "Make sure you take care of him." I promised her I would, just as she took care of grandpa for 69 years. We are honored to be getting officially married January 26, 2023 on what would have been their 77th wedding anniversary. We cannot wait to celebrate with everyone two days later, January 28, 2023!