Dan and I met online, we were both fresh out of failed relationships, and still pretty young (19 + 20). We had no idea what we were looking for and neither one of us were looking for “the one.” Our first date was at Turning Stone Casino with Ashlee’s friend, Liza. Ashlee’s friends are very important to her, so they’ve actually gone on a ton of our dates with us. We spent some time at the slot machines for Liza and then we had dinner together at The Emerald. I creeped Ashlee out by sitting next to her instead of across from her, but she stuck it out anyways and 4 years later we’re engaged! Fast forward a few months... I remember very clearly the first time I told Dan I loved him... it was a Saturday night in Potsdam, NY. We were visiting my best friend, Melissa, at school. I was screwing around on my phone while we waited for our food. I looked up and the two of them were laughing and talking like they’d known each other all their lives. I knew in that moment I had all I needed.

It was Father’s Day weekend, my parents had just moved into their new house, and we were all getting together for a cookout. Dan and I hadn’t been to their new house yet, so they gave us a tour. First was the basement level then we moved to the main level and checked out the bathroom and bedrooms. My mom carried on about how large her closet was and how excited she was to show it to me. This should’ve been a red flag, right? Wrong. She has more clothes and shoes than anyone I know, so I didn’t suspect a thing. We finished looking at the rest of the house, got to my moms closet, I opened the door and inside was a handmade “Will You Marry Me?” sign on the shelf. I turn around and Dan is on his knee, pulling the ring out of a plastic bag in his wallet (total New Girl style) and the rest is history 💕