We're Getting Married!!

Robbie and I met the day before my 25h birthday. My friends and I were celebrating at Ale House and Robbie showed up with mutual friends. Immediately I knew I wanted to talk to him. Lucky for me, he came up and asked to buy me a drink. We spent the entire night chatting and I don't think I talked to anyone else. We exchanged numbers and Robbie took me on our first date a few weeks later.

I knew early in our relationship that I wanted to marry Maria. While planning the proposal, I wanted to ensure Maria would experience the thrilling surprise she deserved. I decided to propose on the night prior to my 28th birthday. Ideally, Maria would think we were simply going to dinner to celebrate my birthday. However, the fact that I chose the restaurant and made the reservation myself might have piqued her suspicion that I was planning something. During dinner, I could sense Maria wondering if I was going to ask the question. As we were leaving the table, I caught her glancing at my pockets to see if she could locate a ring! Luckily, I had hidden the ring well enough to make it to the next destination, Ça Va, without blowing my cover. This small, romantic champagne bar is one of Maria’s favorite spots in Kansas City, so I knew it would be the perfect place to ask her to be my wife. When we arrived, I asked the host to take our picture. He and I had rehearsed this moment on multiple occasions, and he was up for the task, leading us to the patio to snap a few photos. Before I knew it, I was down on one knee asking Maria to marry me. Neither of us remember much of what I said, but I do know she was happy and emphatically said, “Yes!” After enjoying a glass of champagne courtesy of the bartender, we called our families to share the news. Finally, we had one more stop – Ale House, the bar where we met almost two years prior. Waiting for us was a group of close friends ready to congratulate us and celebrate. The next day we flew to Texas to spend the week with Maria’s family, which was a great way to begin our engagement.