we're getting married

It all started with a game of Truth or Dare on Bumble. I dared Hannah to give me her number, and she took the chance! That led to our very first date. Hannah wanted me to pick her up, thinking it was the chivalrous thing to do. I, on the other hand, was thinking, “If she’s letting some random guy pick her up for a first date, I’m surprised she hasn’t been kidnapped already!” Haha! Our first date was at Whiskey Row in Downtown Gilbert. I think we started around 6 p.m., and before we knew it, we were still there until midnight. From the moment we got in the car together, we immediately hit it off. We couldn’t stop talking, just bouncing business ideas off each other, talking about life, everything felt so easy—like it was meant to be. Even though we connected right away, we took our time, and by May of 2022, we made it official. My persistence paid off, and soon enough, we were hanging out every single day. In the first six months, I drove an hour each way just to see her. When Hannah had the chance to buy a house, we decided it was the perfect time to move in together. From there everything just clicked, our lives just seemed to fit together perfectly.

Everyone always asks me if I knew the proposal was coming, and honestly, if you know me, you probably already know the answer... yes. It’s almost impossible to surprise me—I have to know everything! I even told my sister what I wanted for a ring about four months before Joe proposed, so she could drop hints to him about what I had in mind. Both my mom and aunt have thick bands from their weddings, and they've been married for over 25 years. I’ve always loved the look of them, and I figured, maybe it would be good luck, too? Anyway, Joe planned the whole proposal, and honestly, there were SO many times before the big moment that I was convinced it was happening. I guessed so many times it got exhasting! Then, the week before June 30th, Joe told me he had planned a little weekend getaway to Sedona for us. At that point, I knew something was up, but I still didn’t know exactly what day or how he was going to do it. The suspense was killing me! The weekend came, and Joe had everything lined up perfectly. We stayed in this cozy cabin, and he arranged a sunset hike. The hike was absolutely gorgeous—the red rocks were glowing, and I seriously thought, “This is it! He’s proposing right here.” But nope, I was wrong again. On Sunday morning, our wine tour guide picked us up right at the cabin and took us to this stunning viewpoint of Cathedral Rock. The guide asked to take a photo of us and that’s when Joe finally got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! It was perfect. I was so caught off guard and absolutely in love with the whole moment. The rest of the day was just as special—FaceTiming family and friends to share the good news while touring wineries, if you know me you know this was a DREAM for me. Joe made me feel so special and the day could not have been more perfect. We still keep a bottle of wine that we tasted that day to open up on our first anniversary! June 30th, 2024, will forever be one of the most cherished days of our lives.