The world works in weird ways. As the Saturday sun rose in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on May 18, 2019, neither Sara nor Casey knew what was in store for them. Sure, they each expected to have a blast on the beach with their buddies, cold beer in hand as they bounced between stages at Hangout Music Festival. They did not, however, anticipate a day of profound significance. Before the next sunrise, each of their lives would be forever changed. As night fell, Sara was wandering aimlessly through the music festival crowd when she witnessed someone fall from another person’s shoulders onto the concrete concourse. Nurse Sara sprang to action, rushing to render first aid. After ensuring the festival-goer's injury was not severe, Sara found herself standing next to a group of three strangers from the Heartland. Rather than returning to her friends, Sara struck up an hours-long conversation with the strangers. A distinguished gentleman amongst the group caught Sara’s eye, and she his. It is safe to say that Casey and Sara were drawn to each other immediately. As they parted ways that evening to return to their respective rentals, they made plans to continue their conversation the next day. Unfortunately, those plans did not come to fruition, and Casey and Sara departed Alabama with a feeling of intrigue about their chance encounter and wondered whether they might meet again. For the ensuing 21 months, Sara and Casey went about their lives 150 miles apart, trading occasional messages but never reuniting to continue their conversation. Finally, in February 2021, they made plans to meet up for dinner and drinks when Sara was in Washington, D.C., on business. Mother Nature had other plans, producing an ice storm that would have scared most travelers. But not Sara. She was bound and determined to make this happen, even when the three-hour trip turned to five. They had planned dinner at Matin’s Tavern, where JFK asked Jackie O. to be his wife. The ice storm caused most restaurants to close because they didn’t want to encourage folks to risk life and limb to dine out. They found a local chain, Clyde’s, that welcomed them in as they talked over IPAs and Casey ate the largest meatloaf ever. They talked for hours about their favorite music, least favorite politicians, and their funniest family memories. Before they knew it, a year and a half passed with shared weekends in their respective cities, occasionally meeting in fun locations and making treasured memories. Sara moved to join Casey in Arlington, Virginia, in May 2022. The couple got engaged in July 2023 before they attended a long-awaited Matchbox 20 concert (big topic of conversation on their first date all of those years ago). Sara and Casey now share a 9-year-old beagle, Louise, who Sara adopted in 2015 at a Cleveland Browns pre-season game. Sara told Casey about her pup during their first encounter in Alabama. Casey finally had the pleasure of meeting her dog on his first trip to Philadelphia. Louise put Casey to the test over the ensuing couple of months. She chewed his shoes. She chewed through his Hawkeye duffle bag. She ate his coveted Corn Nuts. Despite a rocky start, they are now best friends and snuggle up next to each other every night. Sara and Casey (and Louise) are grateful for everything that has brought them to where they find themselves today. They are thrilled to start their next chapter together and hope to see you in Cleveland in September.

Casey and Sara got engaged before attending a Matchbox 20 concert in Philadelphia, PA. The couple had bonded over their love for Rob & The Gang during their first date. Sara purchased tickets to the concert shortly after they started dating and "just happened" to have an extra offered to Casey in an attempt to bribe him to visit her again. As COVID continued to govern life, the concert was delayed two years. After years of anticipation, Sara and Casey traveled to Philly to finally see the long-awaited concert. They spent the day hopping around the city, enjoying their favorite spots. Casey secretly affixed the ring to the center of the Air BnB dart board and encouraged Sara to play a game with him. Sara did not see the ring until she removed the dart from the board and became acutely aware of the beautiful diamond heading for the vent on the floor. The ring narrowly missed falling down the vent and Casey dropped to one knee. They celebrated the night with their favorite band. It was the best.