I never thought I would meet the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with on a dating app! I didn't even finish my dating profile after having the app for a few months and I logged in very rarely. One day, I opened my app to a message from a guy sent a whole week prior. From what I saw on his profile, he had a dog, shoulder length hair, was a firefighter and liked the beach. He says he figured he wasn't going to hear from me after I didn't respond for a couple days... Much to his surprise, we planned a first date lunch at Joyride Taco in downtown Gilbert, AZ. I was nervous and awkward but he saw through that and we had a really great time. The best thing I could have done was show up on that date. I met the love of my life that day! xo Em

The secrets were the hardest thing to keep.. I snuck around questions here and there about what Emily wanted her ring to look like. Then, after hours of research and exploring online, I kept getting pop ups and ads all over my computer browser and phone about engagement rings. I then had to secretly meet up with her parents for lunch and ask for their daughters hand in marriage. With their blessing, I was ready to propose! She didn't want any crowded places. She didn’t want anyone there filming it or taking pics right away.. we had both figured this would be an intimate moment that we would have for ourselves for the rest of our lives. Now came the long months waiting for her birthday proposal! When the original plan of a hike (and a proposal) unexpectedly got cancelled, plans changed - & that was ok! I was still going to propose that night. We had dinner reservations at House of Tricks that night after her birthday. I was watching her do her hair while I sat on a chair with the ring in my back pocket. I felt like I was shaking uncontrollably in the chair from nerves. For some reason Emily was talking about her sister’s engagement and how it happened. She then followed up with, “You could even propose now if you wanted to”. My heart sank. Somehow it had slipped out and she knew all along. Thankfully that just turned out to be a coincidence. We started to walk towards the door, and I said to her “Your birthday gift would look great with your outfit”. She turned around and there I was - on one knee asking to spend the rest of our lives together. “Are you joking?”. Not what I expected. After reassuring her a couple of times that this was real and this was happening, SHE SAID YES! We were both overjoyed. Luckily all my fears and nerves weren’t a big deal, because she completely spaced out during the proposal from her joy. She doesn’t even really remember what I said.. I am so lucky to have Em in my life and to be able to spend the rest of my life with her! -Nels