Our journey began in a non-traditional way—thanks to a Bumble fail I met Ethan through my ex-boyfriend (yes, really), but don’t worry, no hard feelings. After that, I made the first move and pursued Ethan (shocking no one). Before long, I was moving in with him—and by “moving in,” I mean I became part of the zoo that is his life. Ethan has three cats, a 110-pound German Shepherd, and of course, my own cat. So, suddenly we had four cats and a dog under one roof. I might not be the biggest animal person, but I put up with it because I love Ethan, and he’s basically Snow White in human form. Seriously, his love of animals is one of his best qualities. When it came to the proposal, Ethan was determined to surprise me (which he did, mostly). I had absolutely thought he was going to propose during one of our frequent date nights at Texas Roadhouse. (spoiler alert: it wasn’t Texas Roadhouse). But no, Ethan had something much more thoughtful planned. He popped the question at my family’s lakehouse, a place that is very meaningful to me. He got down on one knee by the docks (to my mom’s horror, thinking he’d drop the ring into the water)—and guess what? He didn’t. Thank goodness. It was perfect, and he made my happy place even more special. Now, here we are, getting ready to celebrate with all of you! We’ll have cocktails, dinner, cake (of course) and a table full of very special Italian cookies that Ethan lovingly calls “lightly sweet croutons” (don’t listen to him, they are delicious). We can’t wait to eat, laugh, and dance the night away with the people we love.