Eat, Drink, and Let’s Get Married!!

It makes for a wonderful story to say that that Kelly and Brian met at the wedding of their good friends Cecilia and Phil. The dance floor was alive. A group had congregated and were feeling the music when Ceci stepped away to fetch one of Phil's groomsmen (yes, Brian). Using his New Jersey-style dance moves, complete with "suspender action", Brian certainly made what he felt was a fantastic first impression on Kelly. Funny thing is though, making a first impression is tough when it is the second time you are meeting. Truth is, Brian and Kelly met on the fourth of July that same year at a small informal brunch with Cecilia, Phil, and Graham to celebrate a successful AJC Peachtree Road Race. Kelly had a summer cold and had powered through the morning on copious amounts of Sudafed. But, despite the drugs and her strong desire to be curled up on the couch she had definitely noticed the happy-go-lucky guy describing his recent travel to Tanzania. It may have taken a few months to reconnect, but who knows how Kelly would have reacted to Brian's dance moves if she wasn't already impressed by his sunny disposition, enthusiasm, and the spirit for adventure she saw in their initial encounter.

Leading up to a trip to Walt Disney World for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, Kelly did not really hide from Brian how perfect of an opportunity this would be for a proposal. It was very close to the anniversary of their (second) meeting at Cecilia and Phil's wedding and these two integral players in their relationship would be joining them at The Most Magical Place on Earth! Brian felt the same, but was tired of Kelly always ruining his opportunities to surprise her. To lead Kelly off his scent he continued to ask her opinion on different design aspects of an engagement ring. Kelly knew with these questions coming a week out from their trip that there was no way Brian could have a ring in time to pull off an engagement. What Kelly didn't expect was that Brian had that ring. He had already scouted out the perfect location. He found the perfect words to use when he would ask. After a stroll down Main Street USA the suggestion came to hop in line for some photographs in front of Cinderella Castle. After a few normal photos were snapped by the Disney photographer, Kelly unknowingly gave Brian the perfect set up to pop the question - she asked the photographer: "do you have any magic shots?". Brian did not skip a beat and responded "I think she does" as he turned to kneel. Kelly, stunned and maybe a little confused, had to step away to figure out what exactly was happening. After a few steps she made a quick about face only to see Brian on his knee presenting a ring. She said "yes", and you know the rest... Needless to say, Brian has set some high expectations for all future surprises in their relationship.