Let's get married!

June 9th, 2023: Our two friend groups met up at Cornerstone, a fine establishment in the heart of Raleigh (it was a bar). Michael's friend, Ethan, made the introduction, and the two hit it off. A couple bars later, Michael got Sophie's phone number. June 28th, 2023: Michael and Sophie had their first date at Chick-Fil-A, followed up by a Wes Anderson movie, Asteroid City. It was truly the worst movie that they had ever seen, but it set the standard for all future movie dates. July 6th, 2023: The two started dating, officially. The ring came a couple years later. Fun Fact: Paige took Sophie to a Halloween party in 2021. That party was at Michael's apartment. Surprisingly, Sophie and Michael never met that night.

Michael hatched a plan to propose to Sophie prior to his surgery, and wanted some of their closest friends to be there. Disguised as his knee's "Last Hurrah!", the squad traveled to Boone for an adventure. They spent most of the day consuming electrolytes, pocket "sammies," and hiking Grandfather Mountain. That evening, Michael suggested that they stop at a scenic overlook to take some photos with his new camera. After some convincing (she's camera shy), Sophie found herself in a surprise proposal. Michael had *flawlessly* executed a 90-degree bend in his left leg. To this day, no one really knows what was said to one another, just that there were lots of happy tears and laughter.