Hayley and Vincent met on the dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel. Vincent read Hayley's profile and then sent her a message containing only the link to a youtube video about the friendship and Christianity of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis (see below.) Their shared love of stories and mutual Catholic Faith bonded them quickly. Early On: They began texting every day for the next month - Hayley felt like she knew him right away even reading his texts. Texts progressed to phone calls - Vincent first called Hayley while he was at Venice Beach, Florida (where he later proposed!) because he thought it would be romantic, but they had trouble hearing each other over the sound of the waves. First Date: After learning about Hayley's love for sushi and fine dining, Vincent took Hayley to Sado at the Hill for their first date. She was twenty minutes late since she got caught in the rain just before the date while out running and had to spend extra time drying her hair. He thought she might not show up. Luckily, she made it in time, and they had a wonderful dinner followed by a stroll for gelato which they enjoyed in the St. Ambrose Church Piazza. Relationship Timeline: Their second date was on Vincent's birthday where Hayley hosted Vincent on her apartment's high rise rooftop in Clayton followed by country line dancing at Stovall's. By date three, Vincent brought Hayley to meet his family in Washington. This was extremely nerve racking for Hayley, but fortunately, his dad's pet cow, Ethel, really won her over. After dating for 1 month, Vincent attended Hayley's home parish's picnic and met her parents and her home parish's priest, Father Jim. By month two, they ventured on their first trip together to Vincent's family's beach house in Venice, Florida to share their love for the ocean together. For their first Valentine's together, Vincent took Hayley back to Venice and then surprised her with Disney tickets - which Hayley fully utilized by scheduling a 16 hour day full of park hopping across Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios (they have to go back to do Animal Kingdom sometime soon.) The Proposal: After dating for 14 months, Vincent surprised Hayley on Venice Beach with a proposal. She was completely surprised as she had traveled there with her sister and thought Vincent was stuck at work. They celebrated their engagement at their favorite restaurant, Sharky's, where they shared a 5 lb lobster. Hayley will remember that day forever as it felt like a real life rom-com. Going to the Chapel: Hayley and Vincent feel so grateful and blessed to have found each other. They continue to face both challenges and adventures everyday, but are determined to face them side by side. They cannot wait to be married and to share their joy with you at their upcoming wedding. “Even I never dreamed of Magic like this!” ― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." ― 1 Corinthians 13:13 The Youtube video that started it all: https://youtu.be/WoAE15gtEzg