After dating for about a year in Green Bay, we moved into our first apartment together. After we both graduated, we headed to the south and did over 4 years of distance while Katy worked on her PhD in South Carolina and Dani his Masters at Georgia Southern. Dani then moved to Atlanta where we bought out first house. Finally we have settled in Austin, TX where Dani manages the Social and Creative content for Austin FC and Katy continues her postdoctoral research in the Center for Learning and Memory at the University of Texas.

Dani transferred to the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay in January of 2014 where Katy was already a Junior. Dani was placed in a house known for its fair share of house parties, so one of the first weekends that Dani was in Green Bay a party was happening. It happened to be Katy’s roommate’s birthday, so she took a break from the library to make sure her roommates were having a safe and enjoyable night and drive them to and from the party. Well Katy went in to find her friends and bumped into Dani at his kitchen island. We talked for some time only to figure out that they were both on the school’s soccer teams and both played goalkeeper! Dani worked a coffee date into the conversation and Katy jumped at the chance. They consider (although highly debated) their first real date to be on Valentine’s Day 2014.

Dani: The proposal was a long time coming. I had asked her dad and talked to her family in the beginning on 2021. I knew after making our way for 7 years that it had to be more special than scattering rose petals on the floor. I knew I wanted to incorporate our song, “Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton”, and being in Austin, TX I knew it had to be playing live. So my quest for Chris Stapleton 2.0 began. This could only be done by checking out the music scene in Austin in person and after a half a dozen bars (and about the same amount of rum and cokes), I found him a place called Jacinto Saloon. After I found our “Chris Stapleton” it all fell into place. I knew I had to take her back to the same place of where I first told her I loved her 6 years before- in the heart of the city right on Lady Bird Lake. Katy: Although Dani is from Austin so we had visited before, we had only just moved to the city a couple of weeks before he proposed. When Dani told me about a dog park and brewery he wanted to try that weekend, I didn’t think anything was out of the ordinary- that’s the winning combo of most of our weekend plans! And after dating so long I figured I would have a suspicion that something was happening, but I can happily report that I was utterly shocked. After I made us a little late (I didn’t know we were on a timeline), we took our dog to an off-leash area and watched him run around a bit. Dani abruptly mentioned that he wanted to walk along the path and I love walking around so I happily obliged. There was a musician playing along Lady Bird Lake in the heart of downtown Austin and Dani stops to listen. After the songs ends, the artist asks if we had any requests and Dani responded with “Yeah, do you know Tennessee Whiskey?”. Without missing a beat, the song starts to play and I thought to myself “If he isn’t proposing, then I am!”. But I realized that it was happening and danced along with Dani before he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I never expected such a large gesture but thankful that Dani made the moment so sweet, perfect, and unforgettable.

We are excited to have the people that matter the most to us all together in one place. We have been looking forward to celebrating this milestone for a long time! And what better way to do it than by bringing together families, cultures, friends, and food in the city that launched our love story?