December 4, 2016, Ari and Troy were getting married at Rustic Manor in Delafield, WI. Elle grew up swimming with Ari on Waukesha Express and having joint birthday parties every June. She was planning on attending Ari's wedding and on knowing a majority of the guests. She was pleasantly surprised when she arrived to find that Ari had invited a group of friends from Oregon, where she went to college. Elle hit the hors' devours line with her mom and by the time they got up to the food, they noticed a handsome stranger polishing off his beer so he had two free hands for snacks (winner!). Elle introduced herself to the handsome stranger and learned his name was Brett. He proceeded to ask her if she was Bride-side or Groom-side, and their jaws hit the floor when they both found out that they were both friends of the Bride. The casual chat ended as the hors' devours line did. When they separated, Brett ran over to his friends to tell them "I think I found the one." A few minutes later, one of the bridesmaids, Kristine, came up to Elle and asked her to take a photo of the group. As they walked away, Kristine hung back to ask if Elle was single because one of her friends wants to know. Immediately, Elle was blushing and praying it was Brett who was interested. Later, after dinner, Brett approached Elle at the bar, and from that moment on, they spent the rest of the evening together - talking, drinking, and dancing. The evening ended with a kiss, but that was only the beginning of this long-distance love story.

Brett made the plans for Valentine's Day Date Night - Nana and Papa had Holly and we were headed off to Palmer's Steakhouse in Hartland (so I thought). As we left the house for dinner, I was not on board with the way we were taking to the restaurant. In efforts to preserve our evening, I decided to let it go, even if it meant getting there 15 minutes late... We got off the highway and conveniently went down the road past the barn, Rustic Manor, where we first met. Brett asked if we could pull over and take a trip down memory lane. Again, in an effort to preserve our nice evening out, I decided to let it go, even though we were now going to be 30 minutes late. Apparently, Brett had called ahead and the owner said it was okay to stop in and revisit our special memories there. We turned the corner into the building and the whole barn was cleared out, except for a single, candlelit table for two. Sometime later on during our steak dinner and Eola Hills Wolf Hill Pinot, Brett started saying some incredibly nice things about me and our lives together. I don't remember a thing, I just know they were nice and I was happy as can be. My sweet, thoughtful man got down on one knee and proposed with a ring more beautiful than I could've chosen. I, of course, said YES! And, if there was ever any doubt, saying yes to Brett was confirmed the right answer when Chocolate Oreo Volcano came out for dessert.