These two crazy people met on the lovely internet - Match.com to be exact. Brian messaged me first and in his message said he liked the Chicago Cubs, Country Music, Cowboy Boots and drove a truck. I knew I was in trouble after the first message. :^D We communicated back and forth on Match and then via text message for a few weeks. Brian accidentally messaged the wrong number when he first texted me and initially texted a woman who had been happily married for decades. He told me this once he got the number right a few minutes later and contacted me. I thought to myself, "Yea, I definitely think I like this one" because that is something I 100% would do myself. Our first date was on September 17th, 2015 at Columbia Firehouse in Old Town Alexandria. And the rest they say is history!

As Kerri mentions, we met online. Kerri stood out to me because her profile was witty, showed she was ambitious and active, as well as attractive. A photo of her in cowboy boots, a skirt, and a Cubs shirt was enough for me to ask “Red” out for drinks. My emailed pick-up line was “I own a truck and like redheads, country music and the Chicago Cubs." It worked. We met for drinks at an Alexandria, Virginia restaurant. I thought we were just having happy hour drinks, but Kerri ended up ordering food - thus, tricking me into staying much longer than I anticipated. It was ok, because I was able to score a first date kiss. The early months of our relationship involved eating some good food throughout Old Town, dressing up as cat woman and a cowboy for Halloween, and then tricking me into bringing her out to Michigan for Christmas-time. (Kerri edit - I did not trick him! I was already going to Illinois the same time. *sigh*) Which, was also ok, because by the end of the trip, which saw a fun Chicago side-trip to downtown with Jeremy (best man) and his now amazing wife Brittiany where, during some New Year’s Eve fireworks on Navy Pier, I first said the three little words.

We were walking our sweet and mischievous Missi on Friday night and Brian announced he was going to a brewery and winery tomorrow if I wanted to come too. I laughed and said of course! We got out to the brewery and after about 30mins, he said we needed to get going. I had half a pint still to go, no shocker there, and said “What’s the hurry? We are only going to one winery after this.” He replied, “I realized Aspen Dale is on the way back from the winery and thought we could stop there on the way home.” As it is my favorite winery (and also happens to be the one I work at once a month), I drank quickly and we were off. After we enjoyed a bottle of wine at Naked Mountain winery, we were at Aspen Dale. We arrived and Brian said he wanted to go see the horses and goats before we went inside. As we walked over, Larry (one of the owners) walked out of the barn and said Hi! We talked for a few minutes and then he said he was headed back to the winery. I said we would come with and Brian exclaimed, “I want to go see the horses first!” I laughed and told Larry we would see him soon. As we walked over and got in front of the horses and goats, Brian started talking and then asked if I thought this was romantic. Snow on the ground, horses, beautiful 1700s house, barns and gorgeous view in the distance? I replied, “I would definitely say it's romantic.” He replied, "Good, that's what I was hoping" and Brian proceeded to get down on one knee. I was completely surprised and do not remember anything he said. I started to cry and say “Yes!” a million times. After celebrating just the two of us for a few moments, we went inside the winery. We shared the news with Larry and Kelly (the other owner) and proceeded to enjoy a glass of wine, FaceTime our Moms, and then enjoy more wine by the fire. It was absolutely perfect in every way.

I had known for a while that I was going to propose to Kerri. We had talked about it, already discussed long-term plans, moved in together, and got a dog. Some ribbing by my brother-cousin Todd and the upcoming deployment of Jay-Z for all of 2020 spurred me into making the final commitment. The ultimate deciding factor was seeing Kerri interact seamlessly with my family during a Summer 2018 cruise to the Caribbean. Fall of 2018 saw a busy work period with busy weekends camping, travelling, and having fun. I decided I was going to pop the question during our Christmas trip to her family in San Diego. But, I fell ill with one of the worst colds I have ever had and was either sleeping or recovering which curtailed a plan to propose during a hike. The trip still was a success as I did get Marly's blessing. A few weekends later, with a planned drive out to the winery (where we are getting married), we walked around the barnyard where I romantically got down on one knee and proposed to her next to the goats. I don’t know what I said or what she replied, but she started crying and put the ring on. After a reminder she actually had to answer the question, she said yes.