Brad and Kristen met on the online dating app, Hinge, in September 2020. This was right after the lockdown had subsided and people were slowly starting to get back out in the world. We connected right away over our love of sports and whiskey. We met up at an outdoor beer garden and hit it off right away. Brad was wearing a shirt with pink flamingos on it that caught Kristen's eye. Brad used all his best moves and even pulled up his Googlemaps to show her his hometown in the U.P. by satellite map…which luckily Kristen found endearing. They continued their courtship with cooking challenges (octopus!), vacations (first passport for Brad!) and all types of sporting events (Kristen is a Braves fan now!). When Brad went on a fishing trip the day of their second date, he called her to ask if he could bring the fish over and cook it for her. Being from Oklahoma, this was a true sign of love and she knew right then he was the man for her.

Brad surprised Kristen and proposed while down in Mexico for Kristen's birthday weekend during a sunset photo shoot. He pointed behind her, used the good old "look over there line" and while she was naively looking for a dolphin, he dropped down to one knee in the sand to ask the biggest question of his life. Kristen was shocked when she turned around to see her great-grandmother's engagement ring in Brad's hands--a ring she believed was still back in Oklahoma. He had coordinated with Kristen's sister to have the ring transported secretly back to Washington IN Kristen's very own luggage, without her knowledge. Her sister wrapped it in tissue paper and tucked it into a tiny box with a Christmas gift "for Brad". Kristen never even suspected a thing and didn't even care to watch Brad open the gift, since she thought it was just a boring keychain:) He was relieved to have the family heirloom finally in his possession and then began planning his secret proposal!