Our big day is almost here! We are so excited and cannot wait to celebrate with all of you!

I had returned home to Indiana from a business trip in Orlando earlier that morning. It was a Saturday and the next day was Easter Sunday. I was looking forward to going out and blowing off some steam and enjoying friends that I've known most of my life. Back home in Indiana, the day before a major holiday is a prime time to go out and get a chance to see all of your childhood friends who are back home to see family. A lot of us grow up and move far away, but almost all of us are drawn back for holidays to our home state. Carli Russo was no exception. She had flown up to spend time with her family for Easter Sunday. When her friends learned of this, they quickly inquired into what her plans were. She had no intention of going out, but her friend's curiosity turned to persistence, and she was easily convinced. My friend Cooper had just picked me up and we met up with a few friends at a local dive bar. Our friend Kristin had brought her childhood friend Carli who was here from out of town. Now, to this day, Carli will tell you that she was not dressed for such an occasion. She was in leggings and only had her makeup half done, etc., etc. However, I will tell you that was enough to make me stammer and have trouble making eye contact. Piercing blue eyes and the quickest wit you've ever experienced. After speaking in more detail, we discovered some pretty crazy coincidences. She lived in Orlando, where I had just gotten back from. Carli grew up only a few short miles from my childhood home. We literally rode the same bus at a certain point. For some reason, as fate would have it, we had never met but had been so close all along. Carli decides that I'd be a pretty interesting guy to have as a wedding date, so at the end of our evening, she (perhaps jokingly) asks if I'd like to join her in Charleston, SC to go to a wedding. To her surprise, I told her I'd love to. One long weekend later and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

Carli and I had been dating about 5 months or so before I asked for her parent's blessing. I had known that I wanted to ask her to marry me around Christmas time. I wanted it to feel like Christmas morning when I told her I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Most people like to be in an intimate setting with their partner when they propose. Not me. One of the driving forces behind our relationship is the value we put on the time we get with the people we love, specifically our families. I knew as soon as I began to prepare for this that I wanted as many of our loved ones there as possible. My sister-in-law, Karla, helped me so much along this process, from helping execute my vision for Carli's ring, to giving me the perfect idea to plan around for the proposal itself. She mentioned zoo lights. I liked the idea, but I wanted something a little more refined. After a careful google search, I found Winter Lights at the Lilly House in Indianapolis. They have artists from all over the world carefully stream up millions of lights and create a beautiful courtyard that is a wonder to see around Christmas time. With the venue decided, I just needed to coordinate both sides of the family to meet us at just the right time so I could ask the big question! Luckily for me, I have a mother-in-law with a pension for these things. On my side of the family, I had my sister to keep things going according to plan. I had Carli's family come up with an "idea" to go see these lights at the Lilly house and I had my sister get my side of the family to meet at just the right point in the tour that Carli wouldn't know what hit her. Carli had NO idea. We happened upon my side of the family as we were going about the tour with her family. Carli looked confused, I hurried to my knees, tried my best to choke my tears down, and asked her, as both our families as my witness, to be my wife.