It all began in Alexandria, VA in 2019 with a "swipe right" and a coffee date. Brandon and Karissa met that September at Swings Coffee after about a month of back and forth messages. They placed an order for their drinks, sat down to wait, and the conversation and laughs flowed so easily that they missed their "order up!" call and had to have the drinks re-made. Three months and many dates later, Brandon asked Karissa to go steady, and the rest is history!

On a drizzly Spring morning in March, Brandon called Karissa and asked her to meet him at the coffee shop where they'd met. They had coffee like before, but then Brandon asked her to accompany him to a beautiful botanical garden in Vienna, VA. He asked Karissa to marry him, and she said "yes!". Unknown to Karissa, Brandon had invited Karissa's mother, grandmother, and two of her best friends to join in on the celebration, and what was supposed to be a celebratory dinner for two became a surprise engagement dinner complete with both of their families and friends!