A long time friend of the bride, Becca, met Sage at a party, and instantly knew that we would hit it off. She tried for months to get me to come to places where she knew Sage would be, to introduce us, but it never worked out. One day, after at least 6 months of our mutual friends trying to get us to meet, and after several months of sporadically talking online, but never meeting in person, Sage and I finally decided to go out on a date. We met for dinner at a sushi restaurant, and hung out until the restaurant closed. We didn't want the night to end though, so we went back to my apartment and just talked and laughed until 3 am! Clearly, Becca had been right!

Five years later, Sage knew he wanted to propose, but he wasn't sure how. I was very particular about what I didn't want (no crowds, or flash mobs, or big embarrassing spectacles), but I knew he wanted to surprise me, so I tried not to pry too much into his plans. He picked out the stone, a tsavorite (a very light green garnet) in July 2018, and then came the process of designing the ring around it with the help of his friends at Brooks Fine Jewelry in Conway, AR. One of his good friends, jewelry designer Shawn Rogoff, helped him design a ring that was classic but absolutely unique. It features the single light green stone surrounded by white gold hand engraved with unfurling ferns. Sage received the finished product in August 2019, and then came the planning! Sage knew, of course, that I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday and fall is my favorite time of year. He also knew that he wanted to catch me off guard to truly surprise me. Being a big crafter, I designed and made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes for both us and our two cats, Caboose and Tucker. Sage had planned for us to go to a costume party on the night before Halloween, and he knew that an impromptu photo shoot to get pics of us and the cats in our costumes before the party would be the perfect opportunity to film a proposal without suspicion. As I put some last minute touches on the costumes, Sage set up the camera and started filming. He got the ring, got down on one knee, and when I turned, asked if I would be his Cowabunga girl. In full turtle costume! I was honestly shocked, and I couldn't answer at first through my laughter. But of course I said yes, and now we've got the most unique and hilarious proposal story I could have asked for!