We're getting married!

It all started with four simple words: “Do you remember me?” I had invited my cousin and her husband to join me at Summer’s Last Blast at the Q Casino in Dubuque. A friend had bailed last minute, so I told myself I’d just enjoy the night — live music, good drinks, and no expectations. What I didn’t know was that my cousin had invited someone else too: Francisco. He arrived with a few friends long after I’d settled in, feeling buzzed from a couple hours of music and fun. Seven years earlier, I had played slow-pitch softball in Dubuque — and somewhere in those memories, there was a guy named Francisco. I vaguely remembered him, but just enough for a spark of recognition. So I walked right up to him and said the words that changed everything: “Do you remember me?” From that moment, the night took on a life of its own. We talked for hours, completely losing track of everything else around us. He even canceled his plans to meet up with other girls — and thank goodness he did. Some nights are unforgettable the moment they happen. This was one of them. And that spontaneous, unexpected question became the first line in our love story.

What was supposed to be just a fun night at a Tim McGraw concert became the night our forever began. It all started with the first-ever Field of Dreams concert. We had planned to spend the whole weekend camping with family and friends, visiting the farmers market, and ending the day with one of our favorite country artists under the Iowa sky. At least, that’s what I thought we were doing. Looking back, Francisco had planned every moment of that weekend down to the smallest detail — details I completely missed. All I could think about was how chaotic it felt going to the concert with twelve people. More people meant more entertaining and less relaxing for me. It felt like a lot of work for one night of music. Little did I know, those twelve people were exactly who he wanted there. When we walked into the concert venue, everything felt normal. We grabbed drinks, browsed the merch, and made our way toward the stage. Then Francisco casually said, “Don’t you think this would be a great place to get a photo?” I agreed — but somehow, I became the designated photographer. One by one, everyone handed me their phones so they could get pictures with their partners, totally ignoring the fact that I still hadn’t gotten one with my own boyfriend. I didn’t think anything of it… just kept snapping photos. Finally, my turn. Francisco put his arm around me, and then, out of nowhere, he asked, “So… when are you planning to take off that stupid ring you’ve been wearing on your finger?” Before I could even process what he meant, I noticed every single person around us pulling out their phones — all at once — pointing them at us. And in my head I was thinking, Why on earth would anyone want a photo of us right now? Then he dropped to one knee. Suddenly it made sense… the people, the planning, the chaos, the cameras. In the middle of a crowd of our twelve favorite people — and about 40,000 strangers — he asked me to marry him. Trying to hold back all my emotions, the first thing I blurted out was, “You can’t do this here!” But somewhere between the shock and the tears, I said YES, and he slipped the ring onto my finger. A night that was supposed to be simple and fun turned out to be the start of our forever — in the most unforgettable way.