In June 2018, in an auditorium full of incoming freshmen who were eager to begin their college experience, Andy Westmoreland, president of Samford University, told all the parents in the room to stand. "Take a good look around mom and dad," said Andy, "because there's a good chance some of y'all are looking at your student's future in-laws and your future family." Unbeknownst to the Glaze and Wilson family, Andy was exactly right. It's still debatable whether or not it was love at first sight, or just awkward college freshmen trying to make new friends. After graduating from high school, Samford was hosting the freshmen orientation for incoming students to register for their first-year classes. As the administration began separating students from parents, Riis and McKenzie just happened to find themselves walking down the same path from Russell Hall to go register for their college classes. Riis, being the bold and outgoing one, caught up behind McKenzie and popped the question: "So I guess this is the part where we make friends now, right? I'm Riis." From there, McKenzie and Riis were each other's first friends on this new journey called college. Two strangers became two friends (and then a little bit more than friends) who will now be sharing one lifetime together.

For an entire month, Riis set McKenzie up for deception every weekend. On Friday and Saturday nights, Riis would tell McKenzie to get dressed up, look really nice, and take her to a nice dinner, a nice bar, or a nice venue with no proposal. On a fall afternoon, Regan, McKenzie's roommate, asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner with her family in town. What McKenzie was hoping would finally be the proposal, after growing impatient and ready to plan, seemed to be an actual family dinner. Regan's sisters were calling Regan asking what shoes to wear, Regan's dad was complaining about Regan's mom taking too long to get ready, and McKenzie was convinced they were actually attending a family dinner. Regan and Ethan were driving McKenzie, when they said, "Hey, there's a wine festival at the Botanical Garden, let's swing by there!" Lucky for Regan and Ethan, there was an actual wedding happening at the garden, so when McKenzie got her hopes up that this might be the proposal, they pulled into a packed parking lot, full of people, vendors, and live music. As they entered the garden, Regan said, "Let's start in the back" and began working their way to the center of the garden. As McKenzie begins to turn the corner to another garden, she sees a small head peeping through the bushes - her best friend and maid of honor, Hana Dzaferovic. Before McKenzie can process what is happening, she turns and sees Riis in the middle of the garden. And yes, Riis was already crying. McKenzie walked up to Riis, smiling and laughing, and through some muffled tears, Riis got down on one knee and popped the question. And as you very well know, SHE SAID YES! The surprises didn't end here! Regan, Riis, Hana, McKenzie's family, and Riis's family arranged and hosted an engagement party! The engagement party included friends from home, friends from college, and the families! With family and friends all around them, Riis and McKenzie celebrated all night long! Cheers to forever from here!