They say that it’s a small world after all, and we know that was the case for how we met. Both of us were thousands of miles apart when we met online in August of 2016, but we knew that we had a connection that was greater than the chat box we communicated through. At the start, we could not be more different. While Andrew researched and thought over sending a message to Katie on OkCupid, Katie just decided to send one, and we both have never looked back. We both came from the rich tradition of high school and collegiate speech, with Andrew working as a coach at Concordia University and Katie as a former competitor for UNL. With those talents, we have been blessed with a lively relationship, which started when Andrew invited Katie to dinner at La Carreta in Seward a couple days after she returned from living in England. While Katie’s dislike of Sweeny Todd nearly derailed the night, we have been able to move on from that gaffe and find love in the things we share in common: our love of family, food, speech, and travel (with Katie taking Andrew out of the country for the first time in May 2018).

There are many ways someone could define Katie and Andrew’s proposal: bold, interesting or, in the words of Andrew, “Could have been a bit better planned.” Andrew thought that a day with Katie, suit shopping with the Concordia Speech Team, would make a perfect proposal venue. It would be doing something speech-related, with a team that supported both of them, and could be engineered to be something unique: what could possibly go wrong? Boy, did Andrew underestimate the power of Murphy’s Law. After striking out at several stores, the team went to Dillard’s, and Andrew threw what he charitably called “a Hail Mary.” He ditched the plan he had formed (which involved Katie finding Andrew’s ring in a suit, and her turning around to see Andrew proposing to her with her ring) and simply got down on a knee and popped the question. Yes, you are reading that right: Andrew proposed to Katie in the middle of a Dillard’s, in front of his team. …And the rest is history (and a good story Katie can remind Andrew of from time to time!).