To appreciate our proposal story, you need a little background. I (Kasey) grew up loving the zoo and would go there often. It was one of those core memories for me growing up. My sister even got me a zoo membership for Christmas one year so I can continue the tradition and take Sophia. For our first date, Alex and I went bowling. For our second date we went to the Detroit Zoo and then afterward had lunch at Condado’s. It was honestly the perfect second date. Alex got to see one of my favorite places and he got to show me one of his (if you know Alex, you know his obsession with Condado’s). When it came to the proposal, Alex mentioned after the fact that he wanted it to be sentimental and on a day that meant a lot to both of us (one of my favorite qualities about Alex is how thoughtful and sentimental he is). What better way than to do it at the zoo and on exactly 365 days from our first date! A couple of times throughout the year the Detroit Zoo has these “after hours” events for adults where you go around the zoo and taste different alcoholic beverages. There is music and you even get to see some of the animals after dark. Alex approached me about going to the one in May and of course I jumped at the opportunity. We invited some of our family to join us to make it a group outing. A very popular question I get is did I know the proposal was going to happen. My honest answer is I had a high suspicion that the proposal was going to happen soon and there were some days I was more suspicious than others. In my head, some high possibility days were his birthday, my birthday and our 1 year anniversary. HOWEVER, I didn’t want to be disappointed if it didn’t happen those days so I mentally prepared myself that it probably wasn’t going to happen that day. We went through most of the zoo and I had NO CLUE the proposal was going to happen and honestly didn’t think about it when we were there. Kelly, Mason, Lauren, and Paul did a fantastic job distracting me! When we got to the fountain, it was such a beautiful atmosphere….cocktail tables, stringed lights, a woman playing guitar and singing. We were all just hanging out when someone asked if we wanted to take pictures in front of the fountain. If you know me, you know my love of pictures….they don’t call me the selfie queen for nothing. I wasn’t suspicious of anything until our whole group was pointing cameras at me and Alex by the fountain. It was then it happened with “Lover” by Taylor Swift being played in the background. Prior to the proposal, I was super anxious about it happening in public because I did NOT want to be the center of attention. But in that moment, everyone else disappeared and it was just me and Alex. It was perfect, he was perfect, and it was everything I’ve always dreamed of it being. Not only did he give me the most perfect proposal, but he also gave me memories that would last a lifetime. Every time I go to the Detroit Zoo, I will be reminded of the proposal. Every time we take our kids to the zoo, I will be able to point out where their father proposed. To make it even more special, Michael made his presence known earlier in the day. While I was working, I received a call from someone who said their name was Michael Hamann, but when he said his name, I could’ve sworn he said Hammond. I know with all my heart this was Michael showing me he was around, even when I didn’t know why at the moment.