We met in the most unexpected way…online. From the very first message, we couldn't stop talking. For almost two weeks, our conversations flowed effortlessly, covering everything from silly jokes to deep, meaningful topics. When we finally met in person, everything just clicked. There was no doubt in our minds that this was something truly special. From that moment on, we’ve been inseparable—building a love that has only grown stronger with each passing day. Our journey together has been nothing short of magical and we can't wait to continue it for the rest of our lives.

I knew early on that Shannon was “the one”. We often talked about our future together and soon started thinking about where we would want to get married. We toured one venue and while there, I realized I needed to begin looking for proposal sites. In my search, I remembered the old Summit restaurant that used to rotate on the 71st floor of the Renaissance Center. During my research, I realized the name of the restaurant was now The Highlands. While looking into the restaurant, I saw that they offered an event space on the 72nd floor that also hosted weddings. So, now I went from thinking of The Highlands as a proposal site to a potential wedding venue, which meant I had to tell Shannon. We looked online at the space, both loved it, and decided to schedule a tour. While there, I asked if we could also tour the restaurant. While we were walking around the restaurant, I knew this was still the place I wanted to propose. The event coordinator thanked us for our visit and noted that if we had any questions or needed anything else, we should get in touch with her. Since Shannon set up the venue tour, only she had the contact information for the event coordinator. I didn’t want her to suspect anything, so I reached out to the event coordinator on the general phone line, multiple times. Hearing no response, I finally made an excuse to have Shannon forward an email to me, from the coordinator, that had her direct contact information. I reached out to her and asked if she would assist me in setting up the perfect proposal. Once she agreed, I told her my idea about having her reach out to Shannon and tell her the restaurant was offering us a complimentary meal as a “thank you” for considering their venue. In reality, I was working on a tailored proposal that included dinner, pictures of us, “Marry Me” in lights, and flowers, all taking place at the Sweetheart Table with one of their best views of the city. The coordinator also assured me that someone would be there taking pictures and video during the proposal. I knew when she’d reached out to Shannon because she called me, all excited, saying the venue was offering a “complimentary dinner”, we just had to pick a date. To my surprise, she wanted to do it the upcoming weekend. I convinced her that we had a lot to do in preparation for our upcoming vacation with my family, so we should do it afterwards. We selected 5pm on November 9th. When November 9th rolled around, I was nervous the entire day, trying to remember my lines. On our way to the restaurant, Shannon started taking pictures of us in the car. I wondered if she was suspicious of what was about to happen, which made me even more nervous. Once we arrived at the RenCen, I stopped by the restroom so I could rehearse one last time. We took the elevator to the 71st floor and got to the restaurant right at 5pm. I gave my name and they took us right to the table. I was walking slightly behind Shannon because I knew as soon as she saw the table, I had to be ready. When we got to the table, Shannon turned and looked at me with a confused look on her face. That’s when I took the ring out of my pocket and got down on one knee. Her reaction was priceless—surprised, emotional, and full of joy. It was everything I had hoped for and more. Looking back, I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect moment. It was a night I’ll never forget. The whole experience was truly one-of-a-kind, and I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with her.

Ron and I knew that our relationship was something special and that it was progressing quickly. One Saturday, we decided to go looking at a potential wedding venue to dream about “one day” getting married there. After getting a tour of the venue, the hostess also let us tour their restaurant, one floor below. About 2 months later, the event hostess emailed me saying they would like to offer us a complimentary 3-course dinner as a “thank you” for considering their venue. The only catch was that the dinner had to be on a Saturday during the month of November or December. I was excited to have dinner there and impressed that they wanted our business so much that they were willing to offer us a complimentary dinner. Ron and I were leaving soon to go with his family to Cancun, so I suggested we schedule the dinner before the trip. He convinced me that we had so much to do to get ready for the trip, that we should do it afterwards. We selected November 9. I emailed the hostess and told her the date and time we wanted to come. The restaurant sits on the 71st floor of the Renaissance Center, so we selected 5pm as our reservation time, so we could see the sunset. When November 9th rolled around, it was like any other day. I ran errands, ate lunch, cleaned a little, and rested. I didn’t suspect anything while we were getting ready. In hindsight, I now remember him reiterating that we had to be on time and that I needed to be “cute” lol. On the way to the restaurant, I took a lot of pictures of us in the car. Little did I know, I was documenting the moments leading up to our engagement. When we got to the Renaissance Center, we were a little early, so we stopped by the restroom. Ron was in there for a long time, so I made a little jokey-joke when he came out. I later found out he was inside rehearsing his lines 😊. We took the elevator to the 71st floor. If you know anything about the Renaissance Center, you know the elevator is on the outside of the building. If you know anything about me, you know I’m scared of heights. So, needless to say, he took multiple pictures of me in the elevator with my eyes closed. We got to the restaurant, Ron gave his name, and they escorted us to our table. On the way to the restaurant, I told Ron I hoped they would seat us at the Sweetheart Table we saw when we toured the restaurant. As we were walking to the table, I was getting excited because we were walking towards the Sweetheart Table! I was taking in the beautiful views and ready to have a romantic date night. It wasn’t until we were standing at the table that I finally looked down and saw “MARRY ME” in lights on the table. I gasped, stepped back, and looked at Ron because I thought we were at the wrong table! He was smiling and I was so confused until he started to get down on one knee. My chin almost hit the ground. He got me good! I went from being shocked that he surprised me to crying tears of joy! It was one of the happiest moments of my life!