We're getting married!

Last March, Emily and Byron went to NOLA, arriving just in time to enjoy the city as it shutdown. The streets got emptier by the night. Byron had been ready to pop the question for a few months, and unbeknownst to Emily had planned on asking during this trip. He already had the blessing of Emily's parents and sisters, his Mom’s engagement ring, and a one-of-a-kind iris ring box he had designed and made himself. He just needed the perfect backdrop. While walking home after dinner the shutdowns offered a rare view of a deserted Bourbon Street. They saw two young women and Byron asked if they would take a few pictures. They agreed and as he handed his phone over he quietly told the girl, "Just keep snapping." After a few side by side shots, Byron leaned over to Emily- "Have you ever seen one of these up close?" The phrase, as Emily would come to find out, is from a cartoon she despises but Byron loves, causing Emily to want a re-do on the proposal later. But before she could react, Byron fished the ring box out of his pocket, got down on one knee, and opened the box with one thumb like he had been rehearsing for days. "Will you marry me?" Emily was stunned but smiling, and did not know what to say for a few moments. Breaking the silence just before it got awkward, Byron asked again- "... so is that a yes?" "Uhhhh, yeaah!" she replied. With that, Byron put on the ring, gave Emily a kiss, and got his phone back with the whole event captured on it by two presumably intoxicated 20-something year old girls. They had drawn a handful of people out into the streets, who then gave their congratulations as the newly engaged couple walked past. Byron and Emily flew home, settled into a pandemic, and discussed what Emily's ring would look like. On one trip to the beach, Byron recreated the proposal by presenting Emily with the ring she had imagined but not yet seen. He did not use the line from the cartoon this time.