Classmates, mutual friends - it was really only a matter of time before we met. While we met briefly in our freshman year of high school, it wasn't until the following year (2015) that we begin to talk after meeting up at a friend's birthday party. A night of awkward conversation and games turned into weeks of talking in group chats with our friends until, eventually, we were close friends.

Depending on which one of us you ask, you'll probably get a different story. In short? Megan confessed first a few weeks after we became friends, sometime in November. We talked for a few more weeks after that, still only as friends, before it became a mutual thing. The official "asking" is such a cute and dorky story. He somehow convinced all of our friends to give us a moment alone (though they all watched like hawks from across the cafeteria) when he asked. Her answer? "Let me ask my mom first".

After living in Charlotte for nearly a year, he got to know several of the hidden gems around the town, including the McGill Rose Garden. It was the sweetest, really. His coworker and friend is a photographer, and he arranged with her to meet us there and surprise Megan - all under the facade that we were supposed to meet his brother there. We walked around for a bit to explore the garden (it was the perfect time of year with all the roses beginning to bloom) when we arrived under the pergola. It was beautiful, with the chandelier and the still-warm fall weather. The proposal itself was everything that we are: charming and a bit silly, with plenty of tears. Both of us were so excited and nervous in the moment that we're still working to piece together how the exact moment played out.