I'd love to say Carrie and Austin’s story began when they matched on Hinge (for those unfamiliar, it’s a dating app—think Tinder but with fewer questionable shirtless mirror selfies). But really, their meeting was more like a perfect mix of luck, timing, and maybe a little meddling from the universe. It all started when fate decided that Carrie should match for an internship in Sedalia, MO. Naturally, being the overthinker she is, she immediately burst into tears, assuming this meant another year of singledom—because, seriously, how was she supposed to meet someone in tiny, little Sedalia? (Population: cows.) Enter Austin. On June 18th, 2023, they had their first date, and things were going great… until Carrie casually dropped the bombshell that she’d be moving to Florida at the end of August. Most people would have heard that and thought, Welp, nice knowing ya! But Austin? He simply shrugged and said, Challenge accepted. And just like that, they were hooked. Since then, they’ve been keeping the spark alive long-distance, counting down the days until September, when Carrie finally moves to Las Vegas—aka, Austin’s turf. So, here’s to unexpected love, to perfect timing, and to celebrating these two in one of the most beautiful places! 🥂💛

As we all know, these two were doing long distance, which meant a lot of flying—probably more so for Austin (some might say he became a frequent flyer for love). So, instead of always meeting in the same places, they decided to spice things up and pick a destination they both wanted to visit. That’s how Carrie and Austin ended up in Denver, Colorado the weekend before Christmas. Now, leading up to this trip, Carrie had been daydreaming about a romantic, snowy proposal—think twinkling lights, fresh snowfall, and maybe even a dramatic Yes! with a single tear running down her cheek. But Austin? Oh, he shut that down real quick. He insisted there would be no proposal because he “had such a hard time picking out a ring” (spoiler: he lied). So, Carrie mentally shelved her rom-com fantasies and treated the trip like a normal holiday getaway. Fast forward to their last day in Colorado. They decided to visit Evergreen Lake, where Austin really wanted to ice skate. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans—it was too warm, and the ice wasn’t safe. Plan B? Grabbing coffee and taking a scenic stroll around the frozen lake. Since these two have been trying (keyword: trying) to take more pictures together, Austin insisted Carrie step out on the lake with him for a quick video. Carrie, slightly terrified of falling through, was on a mission to get this over with. Meanwhile, Austin was stalling—pointing out the view, rambling about how beautiful everything looked—because, unbeknownst to Carrie, he was desperately trying to pull a ring out of his pocket without dropping it in the snow. Finally, she turned around… and there it was. A ring. In Austin’s hand. Complete shock. Trying his absolute hardest not to mess anything up, Austin got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. And, obviously—she said yes!