We met at the wedding of mutual friends. Actually, the bride had been planning to set us up and made sure to pair us together as bridesmaid and groomsman. Nothing happened that weekend, but over the next few months our determined matchmaker kept prodding us toward each other, going so far as to plan a friends' night out and ditching at the last minute so that we were left alone together. Needless to say, the schemes worked. We bonded over a shared love of Lucky Charms cereal and movie quotes from The Godfather, among other things. Over the next five years, one of us gained an appreciation for craft beer and MMA, and the other learned more about Downton Abbey and Jane Austen than he ever would have wanted.

We decided to celebrate five years of dating by returning to the restaurant of our first date. Unbeknown to Karen, weeks earlier Marc had visited his parents to request the heirloom ring that had belonged to his grandmother. At the restaurant, he kept his cool so well that when he abruptly stood up and reached into his pocket, she thought he meant to mosey off to the restroom. Instead, he dropped to one knee and popped the question.