Our story isn’t your typical fairy tale, modern dating app story, but rather one that started in the middle of the night on a weekend in downtown Minneapolis. It was 2am on August 18th, 2018, David was fast asleep when a pounding at his apartment door awoke him. David walked to the front door and looked through the peep hole where he saw two beautiful women. He opened the door to ask what these girls wanted in which they replied “AFTER PARTY!”. David did what any smart man would do at 2am… He shut the door and went back to bed. A few moments later, David could hear the bolt lock unlatch and in came the girls, followed by David’s roommate and many others. One of those girls at the door happened to be Leah. David and Leah stayed up the remainder of the night talking, and even went to breakfast together that very morning. The rest was history.. but it wasn’t a done deal yet. David and Leah’s first few memories together were shared with both of their roommates. It wasn’t until one night at the Minnesota State fair that David and Leah were able to call it a “first date”. David and Leah arrived at the fair to see Old Dominion on the Grand Stage, where their general admission tickets led them to the front row. Following the concert, David charmed Leah by slow dancing with her while everyone exited the concert and then insisted on playing carnival games. David won every single carnival game he played (a feat he still tries every year and fails) which left Leah with an armful of carnival prizes. Who knew all it would take was a few stuffed animals.

David was planning to propose a month or two prior as he already had the ring hidden, but in order to do so, he wanted to ask Leah's father, Jim, for permission to take her hand in marriage. Fall was turning into winter and it was no longer golf weather, so David was trying to think of inconspicuous ways to get together with Jim. David insisted on cutting down the two trees in the front yard before winter and needed Jim's help. It seemed like every time David planned a weekend, Leah had suggested we picked another weekend, due to fear of weather or better timing. Little did Leah know that every time she changed the plans, she was only delaying the engagement further. It was 12/4/21 when the trees finally got cut down and David was able to ask her Father, who happily gave his blessing. It was now crunch time. David reached out to Leah's family and some trustworthy friends to help keep the secret and plan the surprise. Our friends Leah and Ryan made a reservation at Spoon and Stable for an incredible dinner. Leah's Mom and Sister and our friends Katelyn, Rosie, and Mar planned the surprise party at our house afterwards. Rosie was able to get Leah's nails done the day before without her raising any suspicion. Not everything went as planned. The day of the engagement happened to come with a major snow storm the night before. There was so much snow, that the plow trucks never made it to our cul-de-sac, so David took it into his own hands to do laps with the snow blower, clearing out spaces for people to park at our house. Leah started to question David as he spent most of the day snow blowing the entire cul-de-sac, which seemed like wasted time because in Leah's mind "the snow plows would eventually come". If only she knew... We later went to dinner at the Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis, Ryan is a supplier for Spoon and Stable so they were treating us extra special. Treating us extra special, meant a long, multiple course dinner. They demanded we stay for the dessert and the chef wouldn't take no for an answer. We were on a time crunch, David still had to propose and get us back home as he organized to have our closest friends and family to be at the house for a surprise celebration after the engagement. Growing anxious, David was ready to head out to pop the question! Not so quick.. Our favorite Staycation spot, the Hewing Hotel (where he planned to propose) did not allow anyone without a reservation on the rooftop due to COVID restrictions. After some panic and quick thinking the backup plan was to go to the Stone Arch bridge, having never been before. We quickly learned, It is not a place to go in the winter, without a jacket (and of course we left our jackets in the car). As we walked further and further onto the bridge, Leah grew more and more confused as to why we are walking on a bridge in the winter, when it was "FREEZING". David suggested we take a photo of Leah and Ryan and they take one of us. As they took a few photos, David told Leah to go check the phone and make sure she liked it, as she turned back around after checking the photo, David was on one knee. To David's surprise, she had absolutely no idea. Lots of happy tears were shed! People were waiting at the house, it was time to head home. When we pulled into our neighborhood, cars lined the street, the surprise must be ruined, right? Leah didn't notice the cars at all as she was still staring at her ring. We got to the front porch, opened the door and were greeted by our closest friends and family where we celebrated the engagement through the night!