On a Wednesday night in September Allie went to meet her friend, Lauren Taylor, for ice cream at Graeters in OTR. While they were walking around Washington Park Lauren's boyfriend, Will Sweeny, texted and mentioned they should come meet him at the Pontiac where he was having dinner with a friend. Lauren and Allie agreed and when they arrived at the bar they greeted Will with a hug. Will then introduced Allie to Patrick who was slow to get off his bar stool to shake her hand. He quickly apologized mentioning he had just had knee surgery five days earlier to which Allie responded by calling him a liar, thinking, "What guy goes and drinks at a bar five days after surgery?" Set on proving his honesty, Patrick quickly pulled up his pants leg to display his wrap and brace. That night Will, Lauren, and Patrick (but mostly Patrick) attempted to convince Allie to do her first skydive who hesitantly kept dodging the request and, at the very end of the night, replaced it with an invitation to church at Crossroads Uptown that Patrick quickly accepted.

The following months were filled with Patrick's very respectful, mostly patient pursuit. He'd stop by and have dinner with Allie, attended church every Sunday at Uptown, volunteered to help Allie puppy sit, and organized a VIP skydiving experience for her after he finally got her to agree to give it a try. Patrick constantly called his best friend, Melissa Petitto, to tell her about Allie and every moment they spent together. Meanwhile, Allie's best friend Kinsey kept asking her, "Who is this guy and why is he around all the time?" Allie loved watching Patrick grow- he took a risk and went to Man Camp where he he chose to get baptized, relentlessly served their friends, and started focusing more on his health. Patrick knew he loved Allie from the moment he met her and, through council from Will, valued the moments they spent together as friends even though he knew he wanted more. Those few months manifested in the choice to pursue a relationship on the back porch of Allie's house after returning home from seeing Awaited with friends.

The season of dating was filled with many challenges that sharpened their relationship as well as many joy-filled adventures. Patrick designed a ring and picked it up the Tuesday after he got back from his GoTrip to Nepal. He waited until Veteran's Day Weekend to propose and went into it fueled by the love and support from their community, specifically from his Old Successful Man's group. That Saturday Patrick suggested they take Knox to the dog park at Washington Park where they often go to take Knox to play and spend time with friends. The park is also very close to where they first met. After only being at the park for a few minutes Patrick asked if they could go for a walk. Confused, Allie insisted they let Knox keep playing in the dog park as they had only been there for a short time. Desperate to get Allie to consider the walk he stated he wanted to go get a doughnut from Holtman's to which Allie replied, "Go for it! We'll stay here." Patrick eventually convinced Allie to go for a walk that ended across from Music Hall in front of Kinsey's apartment. Patrick prayed over their relationship and then got down on one knee and asked Allie to marry him. When she said yes her Dad, her stepmom, Kinsey, Derek, Wilson, Olivia, and Sam cheered from the windows of Kinsey's apartment. Patrick and Allie went up to meet them where they celebrated with champagne and an official Julie Amann charcuterie board, The night concluded in Bright, Indiana where Allie and Patrick went to go meet his friends/mentors Dan, Michael, Si, Bob, Jeff, and Wilson and their wives for a homemade paella dinner.

Patrick and Allie are building their wedding to weekend to not only be a celebration of their marriage but also of their faith and the community that enables their relationship to thrive. They are eager to have all of their friends and family in one place to build relationships with one another. They chose GlenLary Estate as the backdrop for the weekend because of it's stunning beauty and perfectly designed layout for community. Lastly, they're incorporating a few elements that are true to them and that hopefully bring you all wonder and joy. Their goal is for everyone, including themselves, to leave feeling unconditionally loved, uplifted by the power of extraordinary community, and knowing a little bit more about a God who cares about them deeply.