Our story began like so many other college romances, we met through mutual friends at a party. I don’t remember much about the party, but I do remember trying to find a reason to be next to Danielle whether it was teaching our friend Mueller how to “smize”, listening to Disney songs instead of being in the party or helping her secure a good slice of feta bread. At the end of the night our friend James and I were trying to avoid sleeping on the floor of a house shared by 7 guys and Danielle saved us with couch space at her apartment. The next morning she made everyone delicious, albeit very flat, pancakes. I was smitten. A few days later while I was at work, I got a message from a friend letting me know Danielle liked me as well. We went on our first date the next week and soon after that like turned into love and we haven’t looked back since.

Our first date was at the Ann Arbor Art Fair, so naturally I thought there would be no better place for us to get engaged. Unfortunately, there was no Art Fair in 2020 due to the global pandemic. Undeterred, I formed a new plan for a proposal. Danielle and I planned a trip to Jamaica with some of her closest friends in March of 2021, surely this would be the perfect time to pop the question. Sadly, this trip was also cancelled due to concerns over travel restrictions caused by the ongoing pandemic. Again, I remained undeterred and this time I thought more about what was truly important to make the proposal memorable. With this in mind and with the help of Danielle’s siblings, I made one last plan for a proposal. Under the guise of family photos with Molly, our new and much-loved furry family member, we went to her brother Chris’s house. During the photos, I asked the most important question of my life and she said YES!