We first met at the University of Dubuque on the first day of Stephany's freshman year and Phil's sophomore year. It was the first day of school and we both happened to be in the security office getting our parking passes at the same time. At that moment Stephany turned to her mom and said "Mom, I think I'm going to like this school. Did you see that boy? He was so cute!" So we hadn't officially met yet but later in the school year we ran into each other again and it all clicked! Phil was the cute boy in the security office! A few Facebook posts later and the rest is history.

We were in Dubuque, Iowa for Christmas to spend time with Stephany's family. The plan for the evening was to go out for Stephany's cousins 21st birthday and like you do in Dubuque we went from bar to bar. Our goal for the night was to stop at the Hotel Julien for a drink at the bar and take some pictures by the beautiful Christmas tree. Before Stephany knew it Philip was down on one knee in front of the Christmas tree while all of our family and friends came out from their hiding spots. Philip had even flown his parents in from Columbus, OH to spend the weekend in Dubuque celebrating! It was an amazing surprise and a great way to spend Christmas. We are so excited to share this next chapter of our lives with you! See you in Mexico!