Brooke and Mark first met in the summer of 2016! They were introduced at Mafiaoza's by a few good friends, Tanner and Alyssa, who were about to get married themselves. Brooke and Mark hit it off the next week at the wedding, and he asked her to go on a date whenever they returned home. She agreed, and the rest is history!

Our first date took place on a Tuesday night in August! I (Mark) picked Brooke up from her apartment (with flowers in hand), and we went to Bella Napoli, a cozy little Italian restaurant in the heart of the city. We enjoyed dinner and getting to know one another, and thought we would try to catch the sunset at Radnor Lake... Unfortunately, I had never actually been to the lake before, and took us to the wrong entrance! We started to hike to the lake, but quickly realized that neither of us were properly dressed for a hike, and so we decided to get ice cream instead!!! It was a wonderful evening, and the start of an amazing journey together!

So, I (Mark) had come up with this grand plan in my mind for the proposal... The plan was to take Brooke on a picnic at Percy Priest Lake, and surprise her afterwards with a small party with our family and friends! The day got off to a bit of a rough start, as she wasn’t feeling well, and didn’t want to go on a picnic… But we had to go on that picnic, so I told her that she was going to get some rest, feel better, and then we would go! Also, it was supposed to rain! So I worked with her friends and scrambled to find a new spot for the picnic that would cover us from the rain! I worked from home, and spent the majority of the afternoon getting everything ready for the evening! Both of our parents came into town, as well as Brooke's aunt and uncle, so I met them at Jake’s apartment to coordinate the decorations, and then went home and made our dinner for the picnic! I picked Brooke up around 5:15 pm, and she looked absolutely beautiful! I tried to be as normal as possible in the car ride, but I felt so weird/excited/nervous knowing what was soon to come! I took us to Ellington Park and we had a picnic under a nice, covered gazebo there! I made Chicken Parmesan for dinner, since she had made that on our first picnic together at Arrington! After eating, I read her a letter I had written, and then asked her to dance, to get her up on her feet! After we danced, I asked her to marry me!!! And she said yes (phewww)!!! After proposing, I told Brooke that we were headed to the Sutler for a cocktail, and when we showed up, our families and Nashville friends were waiting to surprise her! We had a toast, and then just spent the rest of the evening celebrating with our friends and family! It was such a special night, and the start of yet another amazing journey for us!