We’re getting married!

It was 2017 when Mike asked Tabatha out for their first date, an early happy hour at Black Bottle. They were supposed to meet at 4 pm but as 3:30 rolled around, Tabatha let Mike know that she was caught up at work and would be a little late. As the clock hit 4:30 she let him know she was still delayed and set the new time to meet for 6 pm. It wasn't until a few minutes before 6:00 that Tabatha was actually able to leave work and get on her way. She texted Mike to let him know and surprisingly he was still down to meet up! Tabatha rushed downtown, parked her car, and hurried into the restaurant to find Mike. But he was no where in sight! After a text exchange that read "I'm at the bar", "I'm at the bar too but don't see you...", they quickly realized that Tabatha was at the wrong restaurant. Tabatha jumped in her car, drove to the correct place, and after a three hour delay she walked in to meet her future husband. After three dates (for the record, Tabatha was on time for the next two), Tabatha and Mike both decided they weren't ready to start a relationship and should just be friends. Though Mike had one caveat - as friends, they would need to do happy hour together once a week, every week. Tabatha agreed since she enjoyed hanging out with him! After months of sticking to their promise, their once a week commitment turned into seeing each other a couple of times a week....which turned into late night dance parties rocking out to Whitney Houston while jumping on the couch, game nights, housewife responsibilities, a pillow barrier and eventually getting a Christmas tree and matching stockings together. But even after all of this, they were still only friends!

Almost a year later and countless "why aren't you guys together", "you're perfect for each other", "we don't believe you're just friends!" comments, Mike and Tabatha realized their friends and family were right and officially started dating! A few months later, Mike got down on one knee! Yup! In 2018 the two were leaving a Norte Dame football game with thousands of people surrounding them. Mike got down on one knee and grabbed Tabatha's hand. She was a bit in shock until Mike yelled "I just want to tell you that I LOVE YOU!" Thankfully their good friend, Mike Crain, was there to document the first time those three words were exchanged!

A few days before New Year's Eve, Mike and Tabatha made some impromptu plans to meet the Crains in Vegas. As the year came to a close, the four enjoyed a nice dinner together and then walked down the Strip to the famous Bellagio fountain. After a few photos were taken of the Crains, it was Mike and Tabatha's time to pose. That's when Mike got down on one knee (again!) in front of thousands of people, with Mike Crain taking photos. Tabatha figured Mike was just going to shout "I love you" so she quickly beat him to the punch with an "I love you too". Turns out, Mike had something else in mind. He pulled a ring out of his pocket and asked her to marry him! The rest is a bit of a blur! But she said yes a thousand times over!