We met our sophomore year in high school through our mutual best friend. One day during winter break of junior year, Joe took a leap of faith and kissed me while we were hanging out. After a week of not knowing what to do, I decided to give him a chance. The rest is history and we've been inseparable ever since.

After dating for 8 years, going through long distance in college, and celebrating many life milestone along the way, this day would be the beginning of our "newest" chapter. We both always knew we would get married, it was just a matter of when with our new jobs, new careers, and navigating adult life. One random fall week in November, Joe asked me to go to one of our favorite places, the cottage, for the weekend. Usually when we go there, we are surrounded by our family, but this time we'd be alone. I didn't think much of it, until Joe started unpacking groceries of wine, steak, and my favorite breakfast food. On Friday night we played games, watched a movie, and enjoyed each other's company. On Saturday, we made breakfast, went to a brewery, and then Joe asked me to go for a hike at a random nature preserve we had never been to. About 3/4's of the way in, Joe stopped and got down on one knee, gave a small speech, and pulled out the ring. I immediately started to tear up and said yes a million times. Little did I know, Joe hadn't told anyone about his secret proposal except my parents. We spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating together and surprising our family and friends with phone calls and texts.