We met on Match.com - Greg was new to online dating, and liked Meredith's profile first. After only one message exchange, Meredith asked him out and we had our first date the following night at The Chatterbox. Meredith's thinking: Why waste time chatting back and forth? Let's just meet in person! Greg's thinking: I like that she got right to the point and asked me out! Five days after that first date, Greg told Meredith that he didn't want to date anyone else, and didn't want her to either. She immediately agreed, and the rest, as they say, is history! All of this was happening just as the world was adding new words to their everyday vocabulary: pandemic, COVID, and quarantine. Less than one month after that first date, Minnesota entered their first COVID lockdown. We agreed to quarantine together, if necessary, and although it never came to that, we spent the lockdown together, and found the positive in it: we had the chance to spend quality time together, get to know each other, and build a strong relationship. We realized that if we could make it through everything the past year(ish), and still want to spend as much time together as possible, it was meant to be.

We had looked at rings and talked about getting married, so Meredith knew it was going to happen. They had a Saturday night staycation planned in Stillwater, MN for the end of October, so she thought it would probably happen that afternoon. Whether he realized it or not, Greg had dropped some hints earlier that week; such as wanting to make a reservation for a nice dinner on Saturday night (he usually leaves that stuff up to her - ha!) Friday after work, Greg wanted to go to dinner at The Chatterbox, but Meredith did not. Greg was rather persistent, and Meredith finally realized that maybe he wanted to propose there! They sat in the same booth as their first date, and even reminisced about that first date, had some drinks... and went home. No proposal. So Meredith assumed it would happen the following afternoon (as she originally thought). Once at home, they were watching a World Series game, when Greg pulled out a ring and got down on one knee. Meredith was SHOCKED - and for those of you who know her, it's pretty difficult to surprise a planner! Props to Greg for pulling it off!