“We're finally getting married!”

6.2013 You know that Rom-Com movie that you absolutely adore, the one you watch every month about the cute girl that meets the charismatic guy and it's an instant connection between the two of them. The only problem is....one (or both of them) is taken. And they instantly become...friends. That movie? You've seen that movie. Like, "The Notebook," when Rachel McAdams rekindles her love interest with Ryan Gosling. A man she connects with, the one who knows the true her, who builds her an art studio in his house. The only catch is, she's engaged to someone else. Or, "Jerry Maguire," when Renee Zellwegger tells Tom Cruise that she was inspired by his "memo." That she was moved by it, so much so she takes a leap of faith with him, even though, they are just co-workers. Or maybe she has a crush on him, only problem...he's already engaged. Often times, the characters in the movies you love the most will meet the right person, but at the wrong time. So you have a movie about two people who meet. They work together. See each other everyday. They build a friendship, they discuss movies, they trade writing and screenplays, they work together on film sets, and they even play softball together in their off time. She believes in his films and his art, he believes in her as an artist and helps her find her confidence with her pen. They build each other up. And they do all this...but only as friends. She likes his drive for life and he likes her why not attitude about reaching for their dreams. She likes his humor and he likes her joy for life and the love that she finds in every moment. They share all this...but only as friends. Then, just like your favorite movie, after two years of being just friends, that moment the audience has all been waiting for, when the guy suddenly realizes that the girl that was just his friend means more to him than anyone else has before. And the girl, well...she was just waiting for the guy. And that's where our story begins.

So, there we were in Rome, the Thursday before the Saturday, eating lunch at a cafe that we found while walking the city after doing a little thrift shopping at the local market. The food is incredible, we're drinking wine because...when in Rome, or because that's just what we do. It's been 4 beautifully romantic days in the historic city and with a sip of wine Brandie asks, "Where do you see us in the future?" I said, "Well, I don't know, I'm not sure." Which was a lie. I did know. What she didn't know is, the night before we left Utah I finished booking a photographer in Rome (whom I had never met) to meet us on the coming Saturday, in Rome, and to take photos of our secret engagement. The past weeks I have spent with the diamond store, chatting to their online reps, multiple store visits, on the phone. And at the restaurant in Rome, I had the ring with me, hidden in my pocket. I had been carrying it secretly for the entire trip so far. What Brandie maybe forgot was that years before, in a discussion around, "How would you propose..." I had promised Brandie that I would direct our engagement as such: We would travel to 3 far destined places, see beautiful sites, and each time I would pretend it was our perfect moment for the, "Moment." As the years went by, we traveled to Mexico, Chicago, Ireland, and Paris and in each place I did just that. Then on March 23, 2019, a Saturday in Rome, after spending a day at the Vatican and seeing the majestic strokes of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, we took a metro to the outskirts of the city, hiked a small hill that overlooked Rome, and I found what I thought was the perfect spot. The photographer was secretly there, and he captured the entire thing.. Plus the engagement photos. So there we are at lunch in Rome, the Thursday before that Saturday, and she says, "Where do you see us in the future." I reached into my pocket and felt the ring with my fingertips, and I said, "Well, we'll just have to see."