We're getting married!

Oh boy, this is one of my favorite stories to tell! We met in Wrigleyville at a country bar crawl we both really weren't going to attend. And neither of us lived anywhere near Chicago. We were both there with our own group of friends. I had just finished a Nelly dance off. I won. And his group of friends walked in. A drunk girl in his group came up to me and was like heyyyy girllll let's dance! And eventually passed me off to Kevin. He bought my friends and I a drink and we spent the rest of the day/night dancing our way through Wrigleyville. We had dinner at Sluggers where I proceeded to eat chicken wings (messy AF) because I wasn't ever gonna see this guy again. When it came time to get on the train to go home with my friends he gave me his flannel to keep me warm and (his master plan!) so that he would have to see me again to get it back. I got on the train and said to my friend, "ha! this kid's never gonna see his flannel again!" I was wrong. The next morning he asked me to stop by his hometown for our first official date. I went. And we've talked every day since then.

We were headed to North Carolina for the Southern Weddings magazine 10th anniversary launch party! I am a SW super fan and have followed them for over 5 years. So we decided this was the year we were finally going to meet the lovely ladies! I thought he was going to pop the question at the party, but he didn't. The next morning, we headed to Asheville, NC to go hiking and enjoy the Blue Ridge Mountains. We got totally lost trying to find the road to get us to the start of the trail. Like -there-was-a-sign-that-said-government-funding-for-this-road-ends-here-LOST. So we finally get to the start of the hike, realize we are both pretty out of shape, but get to the top! I was ready to head back down, but he kept saying just a little longer. And I knew. He was almost pacing. He goes to the side of the observation deck and I follow. Between the tall grasses as I turn the corner I can see him down on one knee. He used my full name and popped the question. And I think I said "yea." ha! Then, he starts digging at the ground with his hands. While I'm like what the hell? He hands me two packages wrapped in burlap and lace from beneath the ground. One was a bottle of our favorite bourbon Woodford Reserve. And one was a mason jar filled with our prayer book, our All The Wire better together bracelets and a note explaining the whole thing. He drove out to NC a week before, right after he asked my parents, all by himself, climbed that same mountain and buried those things to show me how far he would go for our love. So we celebrated with a shot of Woodford! He then told me he found some local photographers and we had engagement pictures the next morning at 8 a.m. Whew! He was never my boyfriend he was always more than that. So I would call him my man-friend. But now, he's my man-fiance. HA!