Picture this: The day starts off with the obligatory passenger princess spilling Dunkin’ coffee all over Kellen’s white car seat on our way to our Saturday morning walk in downtown Durham. After the coffee had set in and a quick trip to the pool, our day improved before Kellen’s “work party” in downtown Raleigh. Thinking we were leaving the apartment right on time, we got stuck in 20 minutes of traffic on our way to “somewhere in downtown Raleigh.” After almost an hour-long car ride, we pulled up to the beautiful and romantic Raleigh Rose Garden. I was confused about why a work party would be outside on a 100-degree day in mid-August, but we walked hand-in-hand down the steps to find a white blanket in front of these incredible banana trees. Once we reached the blanket, Kellen got down on one knee and popped the big question. Little did I know, he had a photographer hiding to capture our special moment (and my ugly crying). To make it even more memorable, both of our immediate families came out of hiding to celebrate with us… cue even more ugly crying. Once all the tears were dried, we went to our favorite restaurant, “Tuscan Blue,” to eat all the pasta and drink all the wine! But wait, Kellen didn’t stop there. The following weekend, he threw a surprise engagement party for us with some of our closest friends! Most of them traveled from out of town—Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Northern Virginia—and we got to show them around our new home and celebrate this milestone with them. We couldn’t ask for better friends! Now, we are looking forward to kicking off our marriage with all our favorite people on May 3rd, 2025. Rest up because it’s time to party!