We're Getting Married!

After graduating college in 2019, Caeley moved from Kirksville back to her hometown of Columbia, where Nick was attending Mizzou after serving in the Marine Corps for 5 years. Both of them were highly skeptical of online dating, each wanting to find their soulmate the "traditional" way. However, they are so glad they gave it a shot because after well-meaning nagging from friends and family, they reluctantly gave it a try...and here we are today! Nick immediately won Caeley over with his taste in music, along with a dry sense of humor. Likewise, Caeley impressed Nick with her ambition and her inquisitive nature. Their mutual love for Monty Python was evident during their initial online exchange when he asked her: "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?" to which Caeley replied, "African or European?" After getting to know each other better over the course of a week or so, Nick asked her out on an axe-throwing date. On a cold and blustery Friday, they met for the first time on October 23rd, 2020, where they greatly enjoyed each other's company at the Axe house and concluded with dinner at 44 Stone in Columbia. It seemed they were meant to be when they threw a simultaneous bulls-eye, despite Caeley's steep learning curve that night as it was her first time partaking in said activity. As an added bonus, no one was injured by an axe (although Caeley has since learned to be more careful with the ninja stars).

At the time, both Nick and Caeley lived in Columbia. Nick was living with his sister Kayla and her now-husband Brandon Pluym, while Caeley lived with roommates at an apartment complex. However, Caeley frequented their duplex so much that their dogs came to associate the sound of her car pulling up with Nick putting on his shoes. The two spent the entire day before their engagement together at Kayla's, filled with fun in the snow, cozy naps by the fireplace, and comfort food. It was a snowy February weekend, so they made espresso snow cream (watch a tutorial, it's even better than ice cream!) and took the Pluyms' corgis Scarlett and Porter on a long walk, where Caeley kept dying of laughter as Nick playfully made Porter slip on ice. After their long day, Nick asked Caeley if she wanted to go on a sunrise hike the next morning at the overlook next to her apartment complex, to which she reluctantly agreed (if you couldn't guess, she is NOT a morning person). Needless to say, they had a late start the next morning. As they were headed to Capen Park around 6:50 am, bleary-eyed Caeley noticed something peculiar: the ever-punctual Nick was not feeling hurried or exasperated in the least, despite the fact they were going to miss the sunrise! Mulling this over in her head, she wondered what had caused this sudden departure from his typical behavior as they made their way to the top of the overlook just in time for the sun to peek its final rays over the edge of the trees. They sat on a rock and enjoyed each other's company, reveling in the warm rays as the sun melted the snow and ice, warming up the otherwise cold winter day. However, after an hour, Caeley grew restless, as evidenced by her repeated attempts to kick ice chunks into the void as she stood precariously close to the edge, which greatly worried Nick. Maybe it wasn't going to happen after all. She suggested they go and get coffee at one of their favorite local shops, to which Nick agreed. Her heart sank with each step they took toward the parking lot. Just as they were about to leave the overlook, Nick asked "So, was it worth coming up here this early?" Hangry Caeley just replied, "Yeah, I guess so." He smiled. "What about for this?" And he got down on one knee with the ring. There was no hesitation from her. She was so excited to say "Yes!" that after he asked her "Caeley, will you marry me?" she forgot to even let him put the ring on her finger. The rest is history!