We are moving forward with our wedding as planned. If you have access to a mask, please bring it with you to wear when getting food and dessert!.

Though Cary and I both went to Truman for college, we never really got to know each other there. We were, however, Facebook friends, of course! Cary likes to tell me that I added him on Facebook randomly when I was a freshman and he was a junior, but I have no recollection of this. I can only believe that he is telling the truth! After I graduated from Truman, Cary and I connected on social media and had been talking about getting together for over a year before we actually went on our first date! During the NHL Playoffs in 2017, Cary and I were texting about the Blues game on a Friday night. Cary offered to drive to Columbia to take me out the next day, and I said yes! I now know that he probably had one too many beers before he agreed to drive two hours for a first date, but nonetheless, he followed through with the plan! He drove in through a torrential downpour and stopped to change at a gas station along the way, which still makes me laugh to this day. We went to Las Margaritas, ate too many chips & salsa, and had the most perfect pitcher of margaritas. I introduced Cary to Jon Langston's Forever Girl on the ride home, and he agreed to come back to Columbia for a second date a week later! 10 days after our first date, I texted my friend that I was going to marry Cary, and I guess my intuition was pretty spot on!

On Sunday, Cary and I had a long list of things we wanted to get finished before having a party that afternoon. As usual, I saved a lot of things to get done last minute, so I was rushing around to make sure everything was ready. Cary left and returned with some of my favorite snacks. He helped me get everything done, essentially cleaned while I cooked, and then even offered to clean up the mess I had made in the kitchen! I thought he was being extra nice, but he's always taking care of me and making sure I have time to get my to-do list done, so I didn't really think much of it. I went to get ready, and Cary helped me pick out my outfit. He told me I was beautiful while I curled my hair, and I again started to think he was being extra nice! I had previously told Cary that I wanted it to just be the two of us whenever he decided to pop the question, so I didn't really consider a proposal to be a possibility knowing guests would be arriving...but as soon as I was done curling the last piece of hair, Cary told me to close my eyes and come with him. He led me into the kitchen and told me to keep my eyes closed. Forever Girl by Jon Langston was playing in the background, and Cary started to get a little choked up! He told me how much I mean to him and how proud of me he is and when he started crying, I finally realized what was happening! He told me I could open my eyes, and I turned around to find him down on one knee! He asked me to marry him, and I said YES! I jumped into his arms and was too excited to think of anything else I was planning to get done before the party. Needless to say, I failed to take all of the food out of the fridge or do any other of my co-host duties all day long because I was way too excited to think about anything other than marrying my best friend!