Jack and Maggie met at Kaley's (Maggie's sister) birthday party in Lakewood, Ohio. Jack was sitting on the couch talking with some friends when he noticed a flash of curly blonde hair in the dining room. Maggie also noticed Jack from afar. Next thing you know the two found themselves in a long conversation. The party moved to Riverwood Tavern where the pair chatted the whole night (Maggie was cracking Jack up). When it was time for Jack to leave he made sure to find Maggie and tell her how nice it was to meet her. They went their separate ways and Jack awoke to an Instagram message from Maggie that contained her phone number. Meanwhile, Maggie was out to breakfast with her sister and mom, recovering from a long night. While they had breakfast Maggie casually remarked, "Mom, I think I met the boy I'm going to marry last night". I guess it is true after all - when you know, you know!

Over the next few months, Jack seemed to be overly concerned with his sister Kathleen's well-being at college. He made numerous trips to Cleveland to check on her. In reality, he was traveling to go on dates with Maggie. On the day of their first date, Jack left his job in Ann Arbor extra early to make it to Cleveland. He picked up Maggie at her house and they drove to Mama Santa's in Cleveland's Little Italy. Maggie nervously ordered buttered noodles and Jack had ravioli. We talked about our families, goals, and interests. After dinner, we walked down to Presti's bakery for some dessert. Despite both of our nerves, the date went better than we could have imagined. Before parting ways for the night, we made plans of when we would be able to see each other next.

On the week preceding the proposal, Jack told Maggie that they should go to dinner soon. He suggested L'Albatross, a fancy French restaurant. It was not our usual pizza and ice cream date, but Maggie still had no suspicions an engagement was on the horizon. It wasn't until Jack accidentally mentioned something about talking to Casey (Maggie's brother) later on in the night that made Maggie think something was up. Maggie then noticed that Jack had ordered the strongest drink on the menu. After a nice dinner at L'Albatross, they took a walk to Wade Lagoon in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art. After a walk around the Lagoon, Jack paused, and took a knee. He asked Maggie if she wanted to get married and to his delight, she said yes. Easiest decision ever! The night was filled with love and more surprises. The two of us returned to Maggie's apartment to find both our families and closest friends awaiting our arrival to celebrate the engagement. It was truly the happiest night of our life thus far.