Carly and Alec met on July 4, 2016 in their hometown of Munster, IN and almost immediately there was a spark. However, the night ended without an exchange of phone numbers, so Carly did what any other 18-year-old girl would do - slid into Alec's Twitter DM's when she got home that night. The next two weeks were spent in constant communication with one another until it finally culminated into an epic first date (one that has been recreated many times for anniversaries over the years.) On July 20, 2016, Alec had planned an entire day in the city of Chicago for the two of them. It started at the Adler Planetarium, moved on to Lincoln Park Zoo and ended with Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza, their favorite (although Carly has since been converted to a Giordano’s fan.) Carly moved to New York City for college just six weeks after the two began dating and they maintained a long-distance relationship from that point on (shout out to Andy and Debbie for making all the visits possible, you’re the real MVP’s). Shortly after Carly moved back home and Alec graduated college, Alec accepted a job offer in Dallas, Texas and the young couple decided to move. Carly and Alec lived in Dallas for two years, until Alec accepted a new job offer that brought them full circle to where they are now: Chicago, IL - a city that will hold a special place in their hearts forever.

The morning of the proposal, Carly had absolutely zero suspicions that she would be engaged in just a matter of hours. As a matter of fact, she had been convinced that this was the ONE weekend that was entirely off limits for Alec to propose to her (due to her sister, Hallie’s, bridal shower being that weekend.) Carly woke Alec up nice and early that Sunday morning so they could say their goodbyes to Hallie and her fiancé, Jake. Little did Carly know that Alec had been up much earlier than her getting spooked by the weather radars and chance of rain that morning. After saying their goodbyes Carly and Alec went back home and began getting ready for what Carly thought was a casual day at Lincoln Park Zoo with her cousins, but what Alec knew was the proposal. Alec was insistent on taking an Uber to the zoo, even though Carly always drives everywhere. On their way there, all of Carly’s cousins texted and said that they were running a little bit behind schedule. Carly thought nothing of this because, hey, that’s pretty common. Alec suggested that while waiting for them to arrive, he and Carly walk the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo. After being dropped off at the entrance and walking through the gate, Carly said, “I think the Nature Boardwalk is this way,” to which Alec responded, “Yeah, but let’s just go this way for a minute.” That was when Carly’s mind began wondering if this was the moment she had been dreaming of for so long. The walk down to “the proposal spot” was a relatively quick one, made quicker by the fact that Alec was about 8 paces ahead of Carly and not saying a single word. When they arrived, Alec brought Carly under the Honeycomb Arch and finally popped the question! She was in utter shock, and the surprises kept on coming! At first, she was surprised by Hallie and Jake hiding out during the whole proposal (and the fact that they were most definitely NOT on a plane headed home.) Then, the four of them walked a few blocks away to a surprise engagement party where both of their families were waiting to congratulate them. It was at the party that Carly learned there was one more surprise in store, a secret behind-the-scenes video documenting the proposal process along with the sweetest messages from friends and family. It was the best day of both of their lives.. for now that is!