Our Thomas Promise

Our story begins like many couples these days, with "It's a Match!" on a phone screen in late June 2022. As Christians seeking a partner with similar values, we were introduced through the faith-based dating app Upward. While there was a spark early on, with Amanda in the Wooster area and RT in the midst of house hunting around Akron, it was not easy trying to find time for a first date. After several weeks of texts, evening phone calls, and video chats we both knew that there could really be something here. Then the real waiting began -- with RT in the thick of busy season at work and recently closing on a house, the talking continued into August. At one point, unsure of when they could meet, RT even told Amanda he understood if she wanted to pursue other people. Thankfully, Amanda was okay with waiting a couple more weeks and plans were finally set for our first date on August 31st. After two long months of waiting our story truly began. RT sprung for pit tickets to see country artist Chris Lane at the Stark County Fair. While walking around the fairgrounds before the show RT asked Amanda "How do you feel about corndogs?" which prompted stories of friends on both sides related to the deep fried cornmeal goodness. During the show we danced and sang, and toward the end of the show Amanda went in for the first kiss. The following Monday, when we were both off work for Labor Day, we met up again and talked for hours over coffee. That same weekend we got together for a walk around downtown Wooster and an early sushi dinner. Afterwards, in the parking lot, RT asked Amanda "How would you feel if I told my friends I have a girlfriend?". Less than two weeks after our first date, on Saturday, September 10th, we made it official. Since that day, we've spent a lot more evenings on the phone, enjoyed many concerts, countless cups of coffee, and even a couple corndogs together. As we've seen our love grow we have also enjoyed spending Sundays together balancing time between both of our churches. We've also spent a great deal of time tackling renovation projects with the help of our families in the home we'll share once we are married. When we're not working on house projects we've also enjoyed checking out new restaurants and breweries, going to Guardians games, and traveling to visit friends or for concerts. We discovered very early and it still holds true after all of the miles and months, our favorite place to be is together.

Our first anniversary fittingly landed on a Sunday, so ,like most others, this Sunday started by attending church service together. After church we had bruch reservations at Cordelia, a place that we knew early on we would come to celebrate big moments in our life together. The first sign that something might be happening was when RT stopped "to get cash" at the gas station but was really inside making a call to friends Joey and Brittany who were already downtown waiting to take pictures of the question being popped. After reaching the valet stand RT made one final call to make sure everyone was in place, then asked Amanda to stop and recreate the photo they took when celebrating her birthday at Cordelia earlier that year. Following a few pictures RT asked Amanda to take a photo on her phone at which time she spotted Joey and Brittany out of the corner of her eye. At this point RT started digging in his pocket to get the ring out and sensing it was about to happen Amanda started to cry and RT asked "Are you ready for this?" before getting down on a knee and popping the question in front of a crowd of cheering strangers on East 4th Street. At the restaurant we were greeted inside with more cheers and congratulations from the amazing staff before being ushered to a special table where champagne was waiting. A surprise to both as RT's best friend Corey had arranged for it to be delivered to help celebrate the occasion. We enjoyed a great meal and tried to soak it all in but that wasn't the last surprise of the day. After brunch we hopped in the car to "go watch Browns vs. Bengals" but waiting when we arrived was an engagement party hosted by RT's Aunt Tammy and Uncle Charlie at their home. Our families and many of our closest friends were in attendance, including many that traveled many hours to join in the celebration.