McNally’s Pub in St. Charles... Yes, we technically met at a bar. Bianca had just moved back to Illinois from San Diego and was out with her friend Ryan. Ryan introduced Bianca to Mat. To keep a long story short, it turned out that the two both recently started working at the same bank but in diffent departments. Bianca was a banker and Mat worked in IT as a help desk rep. It was love from there... along with a lot of ‘forgotten passwords’ so Bianca had an excuse to call Mat for assistance. She was very ‘forgetful’ during those times. There’s also a rumor floating around about spilled coffee on a computer, but that’s neither here nor there. It turns out that Bianca had worked with three of Mat’s college friends/roommates when she was 18 but had never ran into or met Mat. This, along with their work and current mutual friends, helped move things along. In order for Mat to muster the courage to ask Bianca out on a date, he decided to place a bet with her. Thankfully his friend Jeff saved the day and suggested that no mater what the results were, the two would still go out on the date. The rest is history. Very importantly, Bianca was right and won the bet...

Bianca and Mat had plans to visit the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL. It is breathtaking: serene koi ponds, colorful flowers and jaw-dropping waterfalls. Bianca fell in love with feeding the koi and ducks; so much she got yelled at for climbing on rocks. Between all the gazing and feeding animals, Bianca could tell something was different. Mat would continue to pull Bianca aside in seating areas for two and quietly watch the the sceneic areas. If anyone knows these two, they know it’s hard to have more than 10 minutes without a laugh, a joke or Bianca pointing at something she likes. Bianca thought ‘today is the day!’. They circled the entire garden admiring its splendor and NOTHING! Bianca suggested to Mat they revisit the gardens another round to see some spots they may have missed or really enjoyed. They revisted, but with no proposal. Bianca and Mat drove home and were greeted by their two loving furbabies, Cash and Dreegan. As Bianca was in the kitchen, Mat grabbed his guitar and asked Bianca to come on the couch with him. She knew at that moment he was going to ask her, but never expected what would happen next. Mat dropped to one knee in front of her and began playing the guitar and singing to her as tears started flowing from Bianca’s face...

She woke from a dream Her head was on fire Why was he so nervous? He took her to the park She crossed her arms And lowered her eyelids Someday somebody's gonna ask you A question that You should say "yes" to Once in your life Maybe tonight I've got a question for you She'd had no idea Started to cry, She said in a good way He took her by the hand Walked her back home They took the long way Someday somebody's gonna ask you A question that You should say "yes" to Once in your life Maybe tonight I've got a question for you .....and then Mat took the ring out of his pocket. There could not have been a more perfect proposal.