the start of happily ever after...

It all started one fateful day at Boomers Pub & Grill in Pewaukee. Well it did until it didn't.. Rachel was in a bar volleyball league with friends, and one week, their friend Alex, otherwise known by the moniker "V," showed up to watch. According to V, Rachel wouldn't give him the time of day due to his luscious shoulder-length locks. Fast forward a year or so when Rachel was out downtown at RedRock Saloon with some of those friends and happened to run into V with the rest of the group. At this point, V had cut his hair short, and Rachel came running over and gave him a big hug stating, "It's so good to see you!" V was shocked but figured he should get her number and start texting her. Things seemed to be going well until one day, out of the blue, Rachel ghosted V. Well lucky for Rachel, V is a VERY patient man. Another year or so down the road, the group met back up to do the Shamrock Shuffle bar crawl downtown. Rumor has it, V saw Rachel and told his friend, "I'm going to kiss that girl tonight." Rachel may have had a little too much fun discovering what would soon become one of America's favorites, Black Cherry WhiteClaw. Thank goodness slipping and falling on broken glass and walking around bleeding in ripped leggings was not enough to convince her to go home. And thank goodness V tends to like clumsy with a little bit of crazy and follows through on his promises. Irish or not, the rest is history. <3

About the time that Rachel was finishing up a tough 2nd semester of PTA school, V was busy planning the most perfectly executed proposal. One day V brought up the idea of going to the Mitchel Park Domes with her 2 close friends, Sadie and Rosie, to check out the Christmas dome and then grab some beers at Lakefront Brewery. Because Rachel was stressed studying for finals, she said sure but he'd have to talk to Sadie and Rosie and figure it all out. V's plan was off to a great start! The day of the proposal happened to be unseasonably warm, so it seemed a little odd to Rachel that V chose to wear his coat inside. However she quickly forgot when she saw her friends. Diane, Rachel’s other best friend (who she had unknowingly invited to her own proposal), was also there and had been filled in on the plan. As they made their way through the domes, Rachel was taking her time looking at EVERY. SINGLE. PLANT. and wondering why all her friends were rushing so far ahead. Meanwhile, V was profusely sweating and wondering if they would ever make it to the final Christmas dome before they closed. When they finally did, Rosie suggested taking a picture in the adorable white gazebo. Of course Rachel agreed but was soon confused as to why none of her friends were joining her. V then pointed to the huge presents under the Christmas tree and said, "Hey, I wanted to tell you I got you a really big gift like that for Christmas." Rachel turned and gave V "the look" and said, "I told you that you weren't allowed to buy me a gift." To which V replied, "Yea, well I did. And it's pretty big. Do you want to know what it is?" Upset and confused as to why he was telling her this but before she could even respond, V dropped to one knee. The good news - she said, "Yes!" After many photos, they headed to Lakefront Brewery. To Rachel's surprise, V had gathered about 50 of their friends and family members who were waiting to celebrate with them - the perfect start to their happily ever after!