Riley: It all started when my youngest brother, Fischer, said to me, “You know, Riley, if you want to date a good guy, you should date Marcus!” ….now at this time, I was definitely against set-ups, especially long-distance set-ups, as Fischer's friend lived in TEXAS and sort of sounded like a nerd. No thanks! However… after receiving some input and giving it some thought and prayer, I decided to be open to getting to know him, and Fischer exchanged our numbers. Marcus: Meanwhile, I was starting the work week after sitting on Riley's number for 12 hours. Should I jump on this opportunity, or should I give myself some additional time to think things through? My typical modus operandi didn't involve initiating conversations with girls I'd never met before. Having consulted with a trusted friend (who assured me that Riley was probably waiting on pins and needles for my text), I reached out with a cheerful “howdy!” like a proper Texan would. “What's the most that could happen?” was my naive thought. Then I found myself on pins and needles, carefully observing my phone for a response from this heretofore unknown Nebraskan. Riley: I was pleasantly surprised by how easy he was to talk to and his witty sense of humor! It was a week of getting to know each other via LONG text messages before I “taught” him what a phone call was. 😉 We still talk about our first phone call which was a wild ride of enthusiasm, craziness and laughter. Marcus: In my defense, Riley predicted my intent to request a phone call by a mere four hours. Who knew that she was a prophetic mind-reader, capable of preempting my every move? The most bizarre part for me about that first phone call was the total lack of anxiety and self-consciousness that typically clouded phone calls. By the time that 2.75-hour call was over, I had the strongest hunch that I’d found a miracle…

Riley: We wanted to get engaged during our trip to Oregon, his home state, but in order to do that, we only had time to visit two shops and needed to walk away with a ring that same day. The first store with my “dream ring” required us to come back with an appointment to choose the diamond, and there was no way it would’ve been ready in two days. I was thinking we could just postpone the engagement for a few weeks or a month. Marcus: That wasn’t going to happen if I could help it! With 30 minutes until closing time, we headed over to the nearest Jared’s (while I fervently prayed for some divine intervention). Upon arrival, we were greeted by a lady named Jennifer, one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. We outlined our plight and budget, immediately saw her eyes light up, and the enthusiasm switched up another notch. After ten pensive (and somewhat nerve-wracking) minutes of examining the options, Riley and I settled on what we deemed to be the perfect placeholder. Riley: And after putting that ring on my finger, I would’ve been happy with him proposing in the jewelry store! But no… Marcus had a plan. Even though I badgered him quite insistently to let me see the ring again, he stood strong. All the way until our engagement day, May 26th, Memorial Day.

Riley: As we were getting ready to go to the beach with his family, I was almost certain he was going to propose. His sister, Abigail, is a photographer for crying out loud! The timing was perfect. But I checked out his pockets as we were about to head out… No box. I was very disappointed. Dejected, I went to grab my bag from my room, and we met up downstairs. I then realized he had gone back to his room for his bag! There was hope! Marcus: Have you ever tried springing a surprise on someone who was eagerly anticipating it? Let me tell you, it’s tough. But if anyone was going to manage, Marcus (Subtle & Sneaky) Sauble would make it happen! Photographer sister in place? Check. Plan A, B, & C figured out? Check. Didn’t forget the ring? Check, check, and triple check (I’ve heard too many horror stories). Then off we went to go make some history and good memories to boot! Riley: We pulled up to the beach. This is the moment! I thought. What’s better than a beach proposal?! But as we unloaded… he left his bag… yet again… no beach proposal. Figures, he wouldn’t want his knee to get all sandy anyway. Marcus: Was I enjoying the pent-up expectation? Well… maybe a little. Hey, we were having a blast climbing rocks, getting splashed by waves, and experiencing rare balmy weather on the Oregon Coast. No need to rush things, right? Riley: At this point, we were having a good time, but I was on the brink of asking him, Okay, dude, are you proposing today or not? Because if not, I want to stop expecting it so I can just relax and enjoy the day for what it is! Alas, I somehow managed to hold my tongue. Marcus: Having completed lunch, we all drove out towards the long rocky outcrop that we could see from the beach where we’d spent the morning. This was Cape Lookout. I must confess, I’d mistaken this cape for another cape further down the coast and totally didn’t think that we were about to undertake a strenuous 5-hour hike up and around vast stretches of mud, gnarly tree roots, cackling birds (don’t ask), and vertical drop-offs akin to the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride. However, I wasn’t about to resort to Plan B, so off we went on a fateful journey with life-changing potential… Riley: As we finally reached the lookout, I peered over the side of the cliff and was just taken in by all of the beauty! Little did I know that during that moment, Marcus took the opportunity to move the ring box from his bag to his pocket. We were sitting on a rock, taking a much-needed rest from the most strenuous hike I’ve ever been on. He was saying very sweet things to me: I love you so much. I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with you. I just looked at him and said, Too bad you didn’t bring the ring, huh? He just smiled at me. Marcus: By this time, I thought for sure that Riley had seen the ring box in my bag when we disembarked from the van before the hike, or had seen me sneak the ring out of the bag at the viewpoint. Surely she was just being coy with her statement about the ring? It couldn’t be that perfect, could it? After all, she was certainly just trying to make me feel better about my meager attempts to be secretive. But no, down to my knee I went, out came the ring (to her immense astonishment), and the question went forth without trepidation: "O, fairest maiden of renown, wilt thou enjoin thyself to me forever within the bonds of sacred matrimony?" (Okay, I embellished that somewhat.) Boy and how, that ring looked way prettier on her finger than it did in its box. Riley: I suppose I’m glad he didn’t propose at Jared’s.