Beach house or lake house? That was the infamous pickup line that started it all when Chris "Mitch" and I matched on one of the original dating apps, Tinder. At the time, we were living in Rochester, NY yet both of us had plans to move elsewhere. Mitch to Colorado for a travel Physical Therapist job and myself to California to explore my career in Los Angeles. While most people would have seen this situation as a lost cause, we decided that we owed it to ourselves to go on at least one date, and plus, how can a girl say no to "Chocolate & Vines"? Who would have thought that our first date would quickly become our dating anniversary? From the moment we met, I think we both knew that there was something special. So much so that we went on a second date the next day...which turned out to be one of the last times we saw each other before Mitch moved to Colorado. After two dates, a lot of Facetimes, phone calls, texts, and one meet n' greet with Bill - I decided to go visit Mitch in Grand Junction, Colorado, where we both made the plan to move out to Los Angeles that summer - together!

The year alone will give you an early clue at the wild nature of the twists and turns a marriage proposal would have to make to reach its finish line. If the term "third time is the charm" left any questions of its validity, this proposal can give testimony. In place of a plan in New York being ruined by a once-in-a-century global pandemic, another plan was hatched with the help of friends in beautiful wine country. Unfortunately, within 72 hours of our flight's departure, those plans went up in flames - literally - as the region experienced a devastating wildfire. At this point, you would think the world was trying to tell me something. Luckily for me, whatever it was, I wasn't listening. More determined than ever to blaze forward in life with the woman I loved, a new plan was hatched. Living in California has its perks, namely that there's always another beautiful wine country somewhere else nearby. On the same weekend as originally planned we set off to meet friends in Temecula, California. I nearly gave it away via over-compensation of calm collectedness whereas Katie is usually hearing my concerns about us running late. Upon arrival at the winery, a confluence of personal and sentimental events unfolded you couldn't plan. A Buffalo Bills flag flew high above, an ode to her regional upbringing. (Unknown to us the owners were Italian Americans hailing from Western NY) After a few early sips of wine and the rising heat of the fall California sun, a familiar sound began playing throughout the winery: Elvis. Another ode to her parent's love story and our times watching Blue Hawaii and Fun In Acapulco, among other classics, over the previous Quarantine Summer. We made our way to the vista above the vineyard and mountains, and with the serenade of Can't Help Falling In Love playing overhead, I got on one knee and asked my best friend to marry me.