Maura's Version: I had been on the Bumble app for a while, but it hadn’t really gone anywhere. I was about to delete it and really wasn’t using it all. Then I saw a message pop up from Hannah, although I have no memory of seeing/liking her profile before that 😅. We had a lot in common, so we started talking and planned our first date. It was really awkward at first, mostly because of me (shocking I know 😂). Eventually we got past the awkwardness and ended up staying for over 3 hours (the restaurant literally had to ask us to leave so they could clean 🫠). Fast forward to our first kiss a weekish later, and right after (the very next thing I said), I asked Hannah if she wanted to be my girlfriend. I wasn’t sure about it at first but was willing to see where it went. I used to say “she’s nice but I don’t know if she’s the one.” Thank God I was wrong about that! 😊 Hannah's Version: I had just moved from Minnesota to Rochester for graduate school. Because I didn't know anyone, I downloaded Bumble (yes, another dating app, ugh) just to meet people and maybe make some friends. Insert Maura. We instantly connected over everything from social justice issues to the Office, and I knew there had to be more than friendship there. Our first date was at Mac's Philly Cheesesteaks, and we stayed out on the patio talking for hours, even after they closed! 8 days after our first date, Maura asked me to be their girlfriend, and we've been together ever since!

Maura's Version: I had known I felt “it” for a while, although I can’t pinpoint a specific moment when I realized. I almost said it one day, when Hannah had played/sang (honestly can’t remember 😂) our song (Simply the Best) for the first time. But before I could find the courage, she started singing Phantom of the Opera and the moment had passed 😂. Eventually I played her a song to tell her how I feel (Let it Breathe), and made her say it first because I was just a little (A LOT) stressed. It’s so weird to think I was so stressed about saying “I love you” at one point, because now I say it so many times a day. I thought that once I said it that would be it, but I swear it means a little more with every memory we make together. Hannah's Version: Maura totally tricked me into saying it first! We had talked about the "L" word, and we both knew we felt it, but we were so nervous to tell each other. One night, Maura played a song from Spotify for me on the couch, telling me "This is how I feel." The words bubbled to my lips, came out, and I haven't wanted go a day since without telling Maura how much I love them.

H - I knew I wanted to propose by the water, because that's your thing. You were dead set on me proposing on a beach and then your entire family running down to celebrate. Which, logistically, would have been insanely difficult M- I think "dead set" is a little strong. It was a great idea that would have been amazing, if it was at all possible. H - Which it was not :) So plan B. I wanted a picnic on the beach and I wanted to incorporate your people somehow. So the running plan was to set up a picnic, go find you, hope that the picnic wasn't ruined by beach people, bring you back to the picnic, propose, and then get as many people as I could to logistically be in town either night of or the morning after. M - You make this sound so complicated, but I feel it wasn't. H - This is how my brain works. You're the one who dropped the ring. M - Not yet, that's a different story. H - Our lovely photographer, Lauren, was kind enough to set everything up beach proposal-wise. I got our friends Sarah and Kayla to decorate the house while we were out and got your parents to come out for brunch the morning after. Sarah was the cover, so she invited us for an evening at the beach. M - So by this point, I definitely knew. You had told me to "do my nails" at some point during the week. I didn't know exactly when so I was getting antsy. H - I had already dropped off my house key at Sarah's earlier in the day, so I covered by having you come down to carry some groceries upstairs from the car. M - I thought it was go time...sadly it was not. H - We got back to the apartment and you were pouting like you could not believe. I thought we were good because you were thrown off the trail, but then you got bored and just wanted to go to the beach. Which threw everything off because nothing would have been ready yet M - I was just really excited, and kinda bored. So I wanted to go as soon as possible. H - But Sarah said 7 o'clock. M - You haven't even proposed yet at this point, keep going. H - Moving on. We got to the beach and found the right spot, thankfully. And then I blacked out M - You didn't have a semblance of a speech, just the actual question. I thought the picnic was a coincidence because it was so cute, and you had already proposed so what else could possibly happen? I didn't even know about all of the other surprises later that night and the next morning. H - So we had the picnic - M - What about the photo shoot? H - And mini photo shoot! We called some family and friends to record their reactions and then headed home for all the family and friends surprises. It was the perfect day (and weekend tbh). M - Despite my high emotions, yes I couldn't have planned it better myself.

M - Okay this one is pretty quick, because there was like no plan. H - That's on brand, in the nicest way. M - I knew I wanted to do it in Minnesota so your family could celebrate, but suddenly there was like 2 weeks until we left and I had 10 ideas but no solid plans. H - Meanwhile I had been planning yours for like months before it happened. M - After going through many ideas that were just too difficult to pull off H - In the 2 weeks though M - Maybe, but moving on. I finally settled on doing at Gustavus because I knew how much it meant to you and you were always telling me about the arboretum you loved. So we got to campus and based on the map, we started walking to what I thought was a pond. H - You forget the part where I already knew you were gonna propose, because you told me. M - Yeah yeah okay. If you didn't know already, you would figure it out when I dropped the ring in front of you on the walk. H - Literally not even 5 minutes in. You were so flustered it was adorable. M - I clearly did it on purpose to look adorable. Anyway, we never found this pond H - Because it doesn't exist M - I'm getting there. So then I asked Hannah for advice on where to propose, and directed her brother Chris to that location so he could secretly take pictures. H - Oh yeah I didn't know Chris was coming, until you told me that too M - I told you that after the actual proposal though, and he couldn't find us anyway so there is no evidence that these events even happened. I also blacked out, but I was smart enough to write a speech that I could just read off. I had no other surprises though, because of my limited planning time lol H - It was still really cute in its own way. I wouldn't have changed a thing. We are both so excited to celebrate our love with you. See you at the wedding!