Although Bryan and Jackie's stories differ on the exact point in time in which they met, they both agree that their mutual friend Lizzy played a pivotal role during a spontaneous summer night in DC, when they all gathered at her cozy row home for dinner. After a fun evening of laughter and red wine, Jackie was smitten and was determined to take Bryan dancing at a local hot spot. Despite Jackie's best efforts, Bryan was not convinced of her affection and politely declined. This is where the story would have ended, if it were not for Lizzy's keen sense of her friends' true feelings. Without hesitation, Lizzy straightened it out: Jackie liked Bryan, and Bryan had feelings for Jackie. They should go on a date. And with that, she gave Jackie's number to Bryan to seal the deal. A week later, Jackie and Bryan went on their first "official" date - a story for another day - and thus, began their story.

Jackie and Bryan graduated from the same University in 2010 (although they didn't know it at the time). Several years later, they decided to visit their alma mater together on the way down to visit friends in Nashville. As they walked through campus with Luna, Jackie soaked up the nostalgia of her JMU music major days while Bryan thought only of proposing to Jackie. The sky was gray and rainy that day, but in a brief window of sunshine Bryan sat Jackie on the JMU "kissing rock" in the middle of the quad, posing her for a picture. Instead of reaching for his camera he pulled out a box, immediately kneeled on the ground, and asked "will you marry me?". In disbelief, Jackie replied "are you serious?!" and very quickly changed her answer to "YES!" after realizing she would be marrying the best partner in the world.