Kayla: Like any modern romance, Mark and I were first introduced via a swipe right. After only a few text exchanges, I asked Mark to grab drinks with me. We met up at Mo Brew (one of his fave neighborhood spots) and we spent the whole night in awe of how much we had in common. From our similar tastes in music and tv shows to our shared disdain for most traditional condiments (ie ketchup, mustard, and pickles), we got along easy. By our second date, Mark and I were content to spend all day together and our relationship has continued to grow from there. Mark: On our first date, I gave Kayla a few spots to pick. She just happened to pick my local watering hole located right up the street from me. Upon walking in, the bartender shouted "Hey, Mark!" which I quickly downplayed and still to this day don't think Kayla noticed. As Kayla said, we quickly bonded on our hatred of ketchup, mustard and pickles. At that point, she had earned a few more dates in my book.

Kayla: Mark proposed to me on July 9th, 2021. On that night, I thought I was going to an early birthday party for myself at a friend’s house, but Mark had other plans in mind. To keep it a complete surprise, he even had all my friends and family pretend to go along with my plans to throw me off. Mark started the night by taking me to Messenger Coffee (one of our favorite coffee shops in KC), where he proposed on the rooftop with flowers and champagne. Following his proposal, we went to dinner with both our families and then, the surprises continued with an afterparty with our friends at the Crossroads Hotel. I was very impressed with all of his planning! Mark: Probably one of the top 5 most difficult days of my life; and it was not due to my nerves. Kayla came home from work that Friday and I was curled in a ball in our bed, suffering from food poisoning....something I tried my best to hide. Her idea of the night's plans were to go to Messenger Coffee for a special rooftop happy hour. An event for which I had a fake email created, in order to help convince Kayla to go. As Kayla got ready for the night, she told me that I didn't have to go if I didn't feel well. Unfortunately, that was not an option; so I put on my big boy pants and we took off for our first stop. Thankfully, I was able to propose and take a couple pictures, before needing to sprint to the nearest trash can (as that last swig of Pepto Bismol had NOT done it's job). As the night continued, despite not feeling my best, I was still able to follow through with all of my other planned surprises and Kayla had a blast. Although the night might not have gone according to plan, Kayla and I feel confident that all of our bad luck is behind us and we are destined only for the most perfect wedding day ahead.