The fates played no small part in this relationship, bringing Joe from the University of Illinois and Ariel from Cincinnati for our first post-graduation jobs at The Register-Mail in a small, western Illinois burg. They sat next to each other as Joe covered politics and Ariel worked the crime beat. Co-workers became friends, and after countless nights of karaoke at Cherry Street and strolls around Lake Storey, something special sparked between us.

The new year was full of promise, and Joe wanted to celebrate by whisking Ariel off to the most romantic of all destinations: Las Vegas. After a day exploring, taking in the Eiffel Tower of Paris, the Statue of Liberty and the Venice canals, we went to the Neon Museum, an outdoor forest of vintage signs from the historic bars and casinos that made Sin City what it is today. Having been promised memories that would last a lifetime, Ariel had some notion of what was coming, but Joe still managed to catch her off guard as he asked for one quick photo by the museum attendant and knelt down on one knee. Ariel, overjoyed, almost forgot to respond.