All the people we love in one room for one night

In 2014, Kim moved to Knoxville, Tennessee for a residency program. Not knowing a single person in town, she went online to meet some. A quick text encounter with a recent law school graduate in the area led Kim to call her longtime friends Dave & Joel, who both happened to be friends of Ryan's from Duke. After the twins ensured approval, Kim met Ryan for a breakfast date. She heard, "He's great! Go out with him!" Though Ryan proceeded to sweat through his shirt during their date while trying to make Kim laugh, Kim thought he was charming and wanted to see him again.

After college, we both found ourselves working in New York City in our early twenties. It is funny to look back and think about our overlapping circles of friends and also how many times we could have met before, in particular one crowded Halloween party in 2007 we both still laugh about.

New York City holds a special place in both our hearts. On the way to a dinner with friends last October, Ryan asked Kim to get out of the cab a few blocks from the restaurant and walk through a park on Chrystie Street. Halfway across the park, Ryan stopped as he heard a homeless gentleman groaning in a nearby bush. Ryan walked Kim a few yards away, then got down on one knee and asked his question. Shortly after nervous laughter and yeses, and another encounter with a homeless gentleman (not in a bush), we walked off to meet our friends for dinner, knowing our engagement story was the perfect mix of us: awkwardness, love, and laughter.