We met on a dating app. Paigelan had the app for two days and didn't know how to change her location settings when she matched with Luke. She saw that he was from somewhere in Tennessee and took a chance that he was close enough to her area. Turns out she was wrong, and he lived over two hours away. But that didn't matter because we matched anyway, and she gave him a rose (which in Hinge language means she thought he was really cute). We then spent the next several days discovering what our favorite colors were and our favorite types of cheese. Let's just say it was clear from the beginning that we were both interested in each other. We met in person a little over a month later. We waited to delete the app when we were both together, thinking there would be a message filled with congratulations and confetti, but the app didn't care as much as we did.

The day was perfect for a proposal. It started like any other, with trips to all of Paigelan's favorite stores and yummy food. It was right before Christmas, so lights were everywhere, and there was a special magic that you only feel in December. Luke was shaking in his boots the whole day, and suspiciously keeping his hands in his coat pocket, almost like he was checking for something. It was later revealed that he was ensuring the ring, in a cupcake-shaped box, didn't fall out of his pocket. As the day turned into night, he drove her to a park with the most beautiful Christmas lights. The lights were an elegant glimmering gold. They came upon a gazebo in the center of the park, and they stopped for a while to take in everything around them. The clouds were barely visible in the night sky when he got down on one knee and asked her. It was perfect.

My favorite memory of Luke was when he helped me move out of my dorm after my freshman year of college. I knew he was in it for the long haul when he helped lug all of my stuff from my room into my car. This was his first act of service, and it showed me the kind of man he is - someone who was willing to take care of me, even when it was inconvenient. This was also the last time we would see each other for a while because I was going overseas shortly after moving out. He had written me a note to keep with me, saying how much he loved me, no matter how far away we were. I keep that note in my car as a reminder that the man I loved back then is the man I love now, and he would do anything for me. When we left each other that day, I gave him my favorite stuffed dinosaur, Trent, to keep him company. I have a picture of Luke from that night with Trent in the car, getting ready to leave, with Trent secured in the front seat with a seatbelt. That was the image I had in my head for months until I saw him again. His character in that moment was evident, because any man who helps me move out, writes me love notes, and fastens my stuffed dinosaur in a seatbelt is obviously the man I'm going to marry.

I think one of my favorite first memories was the first weekend that I visited Paigelan at ETSU in Johnson City. We did a lot of things that day. We went to see a movie, went on a picnic, kicked around a soccer ball, and then went bowling. Lots of money was spent. It was a different time when gas was nice and cheap. Anyways, she beat the crap out of me at bowling, and it made no sense because her form was very weird. She beat me three times by at least 15 points each game. But it was a lot of fun, and she didn’t make fun of me for losing, which I thought was nice of her, and it also showed me how fun it is to be around her. Since then, we have gone bowling several more times, and I’ve even managed to beat her in a couple of games. Paigelan is the most beautiful, fun-loving, smart, and kind girl I have ever met, and I can’t wait to call her my wife and lose to her in many more games of bowling.