I (Cara) had decided to take a break from online dating and realized I had forgotten to delete my OkCupid account. I logged in to do so and found a message from Derrick from the day prior. He mentioned my profile was funny and impressive and - bonus! - he wasn't at all creepy. That was extremely refreshing - and with zero hesitation I wrote him back. After two weeks of messaging back and forth, we met for drinks on a Thursday night at Leff's Lucky Town, a sports bar in the Tosa Village. We had the absolute best conversation over burgers and beers, and I was completely smitten. A few hours went by (time was of no concept to us), and I received a text from my friend asking if I was on my way - I had completely lost track of the time and was late meeting her at the movie theater! If you know me, you know one of my ultimate pet peeves is canceling last minute - so even though D and I were having the best first date ever, I couldn't bail on my friend. Promising over and over that it wasn't a fake setup so I could get out of our date, I left for the theater and sent a text to Derrick that I had an amazing time and wanted to go out again. Luckily for me, he didn't completely write me off and was also excited to go out again. We started talking about maybe watching the Packers game together that Sunday, and Derrick mentioned it was a bummer we couldn't just go up to Lambeau to see it in person - to which I replied, "Well, why couldn't we?" We got tickets Friday; he picked me up Sunday morning in the big blue truck and we ended up having a 10-hour date! I knew around halftime that this was really going to be something special. I'm so lucky to have him in my life and can't wait for him to be legally mine forever!

About 3 months into dating, I (Derrick) knew I wanted Cara to be my wife. A short time later she moved in and we brought home Gemma June, our sweet and sassy yellow lab. We started the discussions about our potential future together along with our wants, dislikes and "deal breakers." I knew most of the engagement ring details she liked and had one custom ordered. When it arrived, I was so excited but I knew I needed her father's blessing. Kevin was overjoyed that I asked - he congratulated and welcomed me to the family. Awesome, now I just have to ask her, right? Wrong. Cara had "hinted" a few ideas for the special moment. 1. Capture the emotion via photo 2. Not public Tough combination. I started planning an elaborate proposal over the next few months. The plans fell through multiple times and I wondered how to make her dream of the "perfect proposal" come true. The day before I planned to pop the question in Lake Geneva, inclement weather threatened and our tickets were canceled. Now what? Thankfully, the next morning I received an email stating that the Ice Castles would be open. The nerves I pushed aside in defeat were now doubled. This was go time. We had a wonderful dinner then walked over to the Ice Castles. I quickly realized finding a private area would be a challenge. We walked around for a bit as I contemplated where the perfect spot would be. FINALLY, we found ourselves alone in a back cave. I was so nervous. As she looked around the cave I got down on my knee. My mind went blank. All I could force out of my mouth was "Hey you" to get her attention. She turned and covered her mouth as she gasped. I asked "Will you marry me?!". After a seemingly forever silence she responded "Yes, sorry, yes I will!" I wasn't able to get the exact moment captured, but another couple quickly took a picture of us sharing this truly exciting moment together. It took longer than I wanted, but the moment was special and unique.