Michael and I first met a long time before we actually started dating (maybe around 2007). He was a friend of one of my best friends, so we were occasionally around each other throughout the years. However, it wasn't until the summer of 2013 that we started dating. We were at a welcome home party for a friend coming back from being overseas in the military. One of the girls there asked if I wanted to be her partner in Cornhole, and we ended up playing against him all night...and that's how it all started. Fast forward five years later to when we were on vacation in Hawaii during Christmas break. It was Wednesday, December 27th, 2017 and we were in our hotel room waiting to head down to the shuttle to take us back to the airport. I was laying in bed watching something on Facebook and he knelt down next to me and starting watching it with me. (I thought it was weird he was kneeling on the floor, but didn't really think too much of it.) He started saying something to me and then I looked up and a bird flew into our hotel room (we usually left the patio door open to get the nice warm ocean breeze). I jumped up on the bed and started yelling at him to get the bird out and during the commotion, I noticed a ring box on the bed. I was so confused at what was going on and everything after that was a blur. (Apparently at one point, I said to him....you want to marry me?) Of course, I said YES and the ring was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! Over the course of the next couple of months, we were back and forth about what kind of wedding we wanted. One day he suggested Hawaii and after he suggested that, I couldn’t imagine marrying him anywhere else. We decided on the beach on New Year’s Eve (12-31-18). We definitely wanted all of our friends and family there, but we knew it was such short notice to be able to plan for everyone to be there. That’s why we decided to just have the ceremony there and then have a big reception when we got home to celebrate with all of you!!!