Grace was going into her last semester of college and Tommy had recently returned home from Africa. There was buzz around a house party one night that "Tommy Moore" was going to be there. When Grace first saw him, all she could see was a young Hugh Jackman and knew instantly he was the one (I'm not kidding. I knew it. Okay, back to third person). Tommy immediately feared this very loud, very small person. They talked all night and quoted School of Rock back and forth until the party died down and it was time to leave. ____ After their first interaction, Grace would go watch Tommy play jazz at a fancy cocktail bar every Monday. She liked him so much she listened to jazz. Weekly. Finally, after weeks of jazz standards and begging, Tommy agreed to go out with Grace and her friends to the local dive bar for karaoke and cheap gin & tonics. With a touch of liquid courage, they kissed while waiting in line for the bathroom. Romance folks. It can happen anywhere. In October of 2017, they made it official at a 90s themed dance party when a lady who looked like Ke$ha AND Britney Spears asked Tommy if Grace was his girlfriend. He said yes.

After moving to Chicago together and successfully inhabiting a very tiny 1-bedroom apartment, Tommy knew he wanted to spend the rest of his days with Grace. The first person he told was his good friend, Kyle, who immediately set up a WhatsApp chat to secretly organize the proposal. Tommy told his parents next, John & Ruth, and formally asked Grace's parents, Kath and Brent. No one cried (yes they did). While walking the dogs with Kath and Brent, Tommy began to brainstorm proposal ideas. Through her great wisdom, Kath turned to Tommy and said just one word, "Karaoke". With their first kiss being at a karaoke bar, countless nights and birthdays at local karaoke bars, and social distanced DIY karaoke nights during the pandemic, it just made sense. ____ Months of secret planning later, it was go time. Grace's sister and brother-in-law came over under the guise of a night away from a toddler and a fun filled karaoke evening at Britney and Kyle's. Tommy nervously tapped Grace on the shoulder to let her know he had set them up to sing their classic duet, "Can't Stop the Beat" from one of their favorite movies, Hairspray. Unbeknownst to Grace, halfway through the song, the screen had been edited to say "GRACE, LOOK AT TOMMY!". Friends and family from all across the country joined the secretly planned spectacle over video call. Finally the time had come to sing their song, but Grace didn't yet realize this would be the last time she'd sing this song without a ring on her finger. Right in the middle of the tune, Grace saw the screen, turned to Tommy as he got on one knee, and -- you guessed it -- she said yes.