Our first date was at Forest Park in St. Louis! We met outside of the Kennedy Forest and walked through the trails and paths for a few miles. After our walk and getting to know each other better, we went to The Boathouse and had a couple drinks on the patio. For a first date to last nearly 5 hours, it was obvious date number two would be in the near future!

Courtney was coming home from a formal work event and had called Jake. As she was turning onto their street, she noticed the porch light was off. Jake mentioned he must have accidentally hit it off and would turn it back on. As Courtney was parking in the back of the house, Jake was putting candles on the front porch. Courtney walked in the back door to find Jake had decorated the house with candles and roses. Jake was nowhere around - her first thought was she ruined the surprise by sending him to turn the porch light on. The dim lighting inside the house caused Courtney not to realize that there was a card on the table that said to meet Jake at the porch swing. Luckily, the rose petals leading to the front door gave her a clue to keep going. Jake was at the porch swing - the swing they built together and on which they have shared many summer evenings together. He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. They enjoyed the rest of the evening together on the swing with a glass of wine. We're so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you. See you in July!