Austin and I met on a little dating app called Hinge. I had been on the App for just a few weeks and was too afraid that people were crazy to actually meet any of them in person- I would just match with them and chat online a bit. Austin was one of those who was cute and had a great profile so I matched with him! He cut straight to the chase and asked me on a date in his first message, at which point I did not respond. He tried again a second time commenting on how cute my puppy was- still no response. Finally on a third attempt he referenced our mutual friend Austin Stanford and mentioned he had gotten coffee with him and Austin had great things to say about me and so he wanted to give it a 3rd shot! Knowing Austin Stanford and that he vouched for him, I could say pretty confidently Austin Mahaffey would not be a murderer so I said yes to a date with him! On our first date, we went to a private concert (Austin got a boot on his car and handled it very calmly) and that was a great sign to me! We went on a few more dates before Covid lockdown went into full effect, so after that we got to spend a ton of time together since our normal hobbies and routines went away. It was actually a blessing in disguise for our relationship!

Our dating started off very slowly - he went out of town, and then I went out of town, we both had busy jobs and other activities. I wasn't necessarily looking for something serious at that time, he definitely was- but was very patient with me! Then COVID 19 Happened all the trips were canceled, our offices were closed, our activities stopped happening, and we limited the people we saw to a tight circle- we decided we wanted each other to be in that circle. From that moment we spent almost every day together. Through many game nights, dinner dates, movie nights, and too many trips to Zilker Park with Tucker to count, he became my best friend, my confidant, my adventure buddy, my encourager, and the person I couldn't imagine my life without.

For those of you that know Megan, you know keeping ANYTHING hidden from her is a tall task! I knew that I wanted to marry Megan at the end of 2020, but I wanted to make sure I asked in a very special way! It was really important to me that both of our families were there but my family doesn't travel very much so I had to persuade them with a free trip to Mexico! I won my fantasy football league and was able to use the winnings to book an Airbnb in Tulum for a week for our families and some friends to come stay with us! Once the airbnb was locked in, I knew that was the place I wanted to do it! This is when the planning began! I had to make secret calls to her friends to help with coordinating the details of the proposal and the engagement celebration after! I also had to sneak out to Houston to ask her parents for permission.

We got to Mexico in April and I was somehow able to keep the ring hidden from her. Megan had NO idea it was coming which is still a huge surprise to me and her friends. I had a private chef coming to our house to cook a surprise dinner for the family so we could celebrate and I scheduled a reservation with Megan prior to dinner just to "get a drink". The restaurant was this incredible spot that had the feeling of a treehouse in the jungle and is one of the few places in Tulum where you can see the sunset. Megan and I walked around the restaurant for a while and this was our way of celebrating our one-year anniversary a bit early. Once we sat down for the drink, Megan asked me if I missed my life before Covid. It was the perfect opportunity to show her the video I made, highlighting how special our relationship has been and all the amazing memories we had shared! Megan watched the video and cried. Meanwhile, I am fumbling through my pocket for the ring. I finally get it out of my pocket and get on one knee and the subtle crying turns into hysteric crying. She was so surprised and so happy! They immediately took us up to one of the tree top tables, got us drinks on the house, and took some awesome photos of the moment! We then got back to the fully decorated house (thanks Alli and Angie) where an amazing dinner was waiting for us! We got to enjoy the night with our families, sharing stories and celebrating what our future expanded family would look like! It was the best night of my life and I hope Megan feels the same!