We're getting married!

We are one of those modern couples who met and fell in love through an online dating app. It was pretty amazing how we hit it off right from the start. Our first date was at the Hotel Greene in Richmond, Virginia. We had initially planned to play putt-putt, but we ended up chatting and having such a great time that our date lasted for hours! It was like we had known each other for years. It was a truly magical evening that we will always cherish. And from that day on, we knew we had found something special. The rest, as they say, is history!

Montreal had become one of our favorite places on a previous trip, and we knew we had to return to experience it in the wintertime. I immediately thought, "What a perfect place to pop the question!" So, the planning was on. We got to Montreal, and it was perfect. It had snowed a few days earlier and flurries were beginning to fall—a proverbial winter wonderland. I wanted to propose at the top of Mount Royal park. It had this beautiful overlook called Belvédère Kondiaronk. Here's how Lonely Planet describes it/getting to it: "There are excellent views of downtown from this wide semicircular vantage point fronting the Chalet du Mont-Royal. To the left you can even make out the round shape of the Biosphère on Parc Jean-Drapeau. The lookout an easy 10-minute walk (700m) from the car park at bus 11 stop Remembrance/Chemin du Chalet. A more challenging 10-15 minute walk is also possible straight uphill from Ave de Pins Ouest at Rue Peel." Just hold that last sentence in your brain for a minute. I called the Uber to take us to the overlook. In my best attempt at French, I told him where we wanted to go because he seemed confused. I guess I should have boned up a little bit. Here we stood, at what seemed like a glorified parking lot on the side of the Mount Royal littered with graffiti where the essence of cannabis and McDonald's filled the air. This can't be the place. We had no cellular service. The sun was setting. I started to scramble. Finally, we managed to grab an Uber, this time to the bottom of the park. Remember that 10-15 minute walk straight uphill? I told Bailey, "Look, it's just going to be just a short walk up some stairs to get to this amazing view," as a person cross-country skiing through the park passes by us. 537 snow-covered stairs. That's how many we had to climb. Nothing was stopping this from happening. I got down on one knee and shared what Bailey meant to me and what I envisioned for our lives together. "Yes!" After that, we hit the town and celebrated the night away. We've been looking forward to our big day ever since!