Interesting enough, we met at Phillip’s Mom’s birthday gathering. Why yes, you read that right. I knew Phillip’s parents before I met him. I guess some could call it an arranged marriage, but we like to think it was fate. One of my closest friends worked at the same school as Renee (Phillip’s mom) and asked me to join her for a birthday gathering in honor of Renee. Hating to invite myself, I almost didn't go but decided at the last minute to join after my friend insisted that Renee offered an open invitation. I had never met Phillip, but my friend had gone to school with Phillip and thought we would be a perfect match. I'm almost positive that I approached Phillip and introduced myself first, which probably doesn’t come as a shock to some of you that know us, given that I am a “little” more chatty than Phillip. We spent the evening talking and getting to know each other, then Phillip walked me to my car (such a gentleman) and we exchanged numbers. 5 years later, here we are. The future Mr. & Mrs. Hoffmeister!

It truly was a Hallmark Movie proposal (ladies, brace yourself). As a celebration of our 5-year anniversary of dating, Phillip arranged a New Year’s trip to Banff (Canada) where we went on our first hiking trip together. Between the snowy mountains and quaint mountain town, I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t hoping for a proposal. That is, until my boyfriend (at the time) looked me straight in the eyes and assured me my girlfriends were wrong and I would not be getting a ring on New Year’s Eve. Fast forward to the next day, New Year’s Day 2019. After going on a short hike, we road over to a dock that overlooks Mount Rundle, which Phillip has so eloquently deemed his favorite mountain. We had already stopped by the previous day and Phillip had set up his camera to capture sunrise pictures. Being that we had already taken photos and it was below zero, I decided I would just stay back and enjoy the heated seats in the rental car. (Poor guy, I can’t even cooperate during a proposal.) After some encouragement from Phillip to get out of the car, I threw on my coat and gloves and followed Phillip for his big photo opt. Phillip then asked me to walk out on the frozen lake, where he could take timed pictures of us in front of Mount Rundle. Oh, and you guessed it. I also tried to be stubborn and refuse to walk on the frozen lake. As Phillip joined me on the lake overlooking Mount Rundle, I turned around to find Phillip holding a beautiful diamond ring. After our moment of celebration, we returned to the car and FaceTimed our parents. He wrapped up the proposal with a horse drawn sleigh ride through the snowy mountains, partnered with a buffalo hide blanket and champagne toast. I would say he’s a keeper.