We're getting married!

May 27th 2019

You never know what weirdos there are online... and I found the biggest one. Now I'm marrying him! I didn't meet Billy in person until three months after matching on Tinder. I was raised to be wary of meeting up with people you've met online... but after constant phone dates I worked up the courage to meet and our Avengers End Game / Spider-Man Far From Home double feature was love at first sight... for Billy anyways! It took me another two months to make it official. But I knew he was genuine from the beginning. He just gives off such a warm aura that you can't help but laugh along with him or smile when he smiles. He is always the first to laugh at a joke, to offer up a bear hug, or give off a calming presence when you need it most. Just being around him makes me feel better. He is my safe space. I've always been the exact opposite. I'm intimidating and judgy, and all around just meaner. I've always thought I needed someone who was the same. That I needed to be in a power-couple that secretly thought we were better than everyone, and tried to outshine each other - each stealing the spotlight and being the center of attention. Like our life was a competition. But that's honestly why Billy and I are so great. He calms me down and makes me appreciate things the way I don't naturally do. He also lets me shine and he's the ultimate hype man! He knows when I've put effort into my eyebrows or that I'm going to need a change of shoes halfway through the day if I'm wearing heels. He loves surprising me and catching me off guard because he knows I appreciate when people put in effort! One thing that was a real struggle at the beginning of our relationship was unlearning some toxic behavior. I'm so used to not being able to plan things a month, let alone a week ahead, because I never knew if friends were going to flake out on plans, forget we made plans, or ghost me all together! (For those of you who don't know what 'ghost' means, think of an actual ghost - disappeared, doesn't exist, like they've basically died) But that was all because of my past, none of that was focused on what Billy and I were beginning. He took note of that and made an effort to text me at every one of his breaks, he made sure to talk about our future and actually make real plans because he knew it was something that mattered to me. That's really how the foundation of our relationship was built - on faith, trust... and a lot of driving! Living in two different cities on two completely different schedules was stressful... that is until a pandemic hit! I never thought I would be living with someone until I was engaged, but an epidemic will do that to you! Ten months into our relationship and we were already living together! Mainly so I could get away from my horrid roommates but also so we could spend the most blissful eight month vacation together. Not needing to stick to a schedule, not needing to worry about life's real problems. It honestly was so amazing for our relationship! If we could survive that, we knew that we had something that was going to last! Over the past three years friendships have come and gone, but Billy has remained. He's seen me on my good days when I have time to do my makeup, and he's seen me on my really bad days when I'm struggling to get my earrings in. He knows how to be there for me and to be a supportive and understanding partner - someone that I've needed my entire life. He's my absolute best friend, my ride or die - and I would choose him over anyone any day. I'd like to think that I've made him better as well! Or at the very least, that he has grown since we first met. He's not as soft spoken, he's more competitive, he has more ambition, and he's more adventurous! We talk about exploring the world together, so it makes sense that he'd propose to me the moment we step foot out of the country! I know that its just the first of many of our travels and I can't wait to see how far we'll go! To Our Happily Ever After - Lover

I honestly didn't think I would ever be so lucky as to find the most amazing person in the world... and I get to spend the rest of my life with her. So as with all good stories, lets start from the beginning: There I was at the drive-in with my parent's, so of course I was on my phone instead of paying attention to whatever movies we were there to see. My dating life had been nothing but misses and all I could think about was how nice it would be to be there with someone special instead of with my mom and dad. I decided to download tinder. For the length of two feature films I tried finding my someone special based on 5 photos and a limited word count. Little did I know that I actually would. There she was, right there on my screen, I had been swiping left and right not really paying attentions and then I stopped. I saw her. Her pictures were cute and her bio even cuter. She was the real deal and the ultimate package! Especially since one photo was her on a horse in full princess costume. I knew I had to win the heart of this real life princess. So I made my choice. I'm going all in. No folding. I bought a SUPER SWIPE, yes spent real money so I could show her I meant business. And it paid off! Who knew the next day I would wake up to a message that would spark a life of love that would burn hotter than any sun! And after one super cheesy pick up line, I began to win her heart. After a couple months of constant texting we set up a phone date to watch "Scott Pilgrim VS the World". That was the first time I heard her voice. We started talking in May but it wasn't until July that I finally convinced her to meet up in person and let me take her on a real date. We planned to meet in Georgetown but beforehand, I went out and bought nice cologne and a fresh bouquet of flowers. I had also brought with me one of my favorite shirts to give to her. I might've went a little overboard, but I was just so nervous. When she got there and we finally got to talk face to face, we never stopped. All the nerves were gone - we just clicked! We saw "Avengers Endgame" then ate at Olive Garden while talking more and the whole time I was thinking how is she real? We then went back to the movies and watched "Spiderman Far From Home". Double Feature! We got Orange Leaf froyo and went to Lexington Green to watched the ducks and see the fountain. Before we left, we had our first kiss and it felt like we were the ones in a movie! Just so magical in every way. When I took her back to her car I didn't want her to leave. I know it's silly to miss someone so much when you just met them, but when she drove away, I already missed her like I hadn't seen her in months! After that, all I could do was hope for a second date. I was so worried I messed something up, but seeing how things are going now, I'd say I got more than just a second date. Flash forward and things are going great! Lots of adventures and wonderful memories made that I never thought I'd get... just before a deadly plague swept the world. Those were hard times for a lot of people, but somehow it brought Brittany and I closer together. We basically moved her into my parents house for almost a year until we got our first apartment together. It's the first place I've lived other than my childhood home. Not once during all the madness did we falter. I always remind myself: don't sweat the small things, be her strength, keep her happy. So after living together for a little over a year, her parents invited us on a Christmas cruise with the entire family - and an interesting little thought started to form in my mind. A proposal if you will... Now we come to the next chapter of our life as soon to be husband and wife. We don't see our wedding as a finish line or a fairytale end to our epic love story. We see it as us binding our love forever and allowing it grow even more. I can't wait to see what adventures the next chapter of our story has in store for us. I will always love you 3,000

On December 27th 2021, Billy and Brittany woke up at 6:25 on the Carnival Sunshine to go watch the sun break over the horizon. The night before, the cruise had a channel where it maps the ships course, shows how fast it's going, and when sunrise and sunset will be. They both thought it sounded so romantic to watch the sun come up over the water - and if they did it the first day, they wouldn't have to wake up that early any other of the days! So they set their alarms, laid out their outfits, and made sure they wouldn't miss it! They had scoped out the front of the ship and made sure they knew exactly where they were going to watch the sunrise. So as they made their way to the front of the ship, it wasn't quite time yet, so they sat on one of the king sized lounge chairs and got comfy to wait. As the sun just started to peak, Billy hopped up and propped up his phone on the lounger so they could get a great photo of them with the sun, but Brittany thought the handle on the door, if they could balance it just right, would make for a much better vantage point! As they cuddled up to pose for the photo with the timer set at 10, they started to count down... 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Then as they got to 0... Billy pulled away from her to go see how the photo turned out and if they need to take it again... Or so Brittany thought. As she turned to see why Billy had moved, she saw him down on one knee with a box in his hand. All she could do was repeat: "Get out!!! Get out!!!!" Unbeknownst to Brittany, Billy had actually set the phone to video instead of a timed photo and figured what a perfect way to propose! She had no idea he had the ring in his pocket the entire SIXTEEN hour drive down to Florida - constantly moving the box from left side to right side depending on which side Brittany was sitting on. He was too nervous she'd find it if he packed it away in the suitcase... Unbeknownst to Billy, Brittany had actually found the ring almost A YEAR before then when she was looking for her Anna necklace!! She'd get it out on occasion just to check it out and as she was loosing weight, would make comments about needing to get her ring size rechecked as she knew the ring in the closet was now too big for her smaller finger! But she honestly had no idea he had already gotten it resized right before the cruise and had asked her parents for permission before jumping in the car to head down to Florida! The first morning of their first get away together, Billy thought that a pre-honeymoon engagement with no social media and no way to involve anyone else, just getting to enjoy one of the happiest times of their lives would make for the ultimate proposal story! Along with the rest of Brittany's family and the other 3,000 guests on the cruise. Of course, Brittany said yes. And after the proposal Brittany went back down to their rooms and went banging on her parent's room! Lois answered the door, saying "shhhh dad's still sleeping" to which Brittany exclaimed "well tell him to wake up because I just got engaged!!!!!" The rest of cruise was blissful - constantly people were congratulating us, the comedians were picking on us, and the free drinks were pouring in!! And the memories will last us a lifetime along with the photos of a picture perfect proposal.