Rutger and I really met before the beginning of middle school, even though we had both gone to the same elementary school (go Clifton Cardinals!) My parents had just moved into the house across the street from his and I was more excited to be getting my own bathroom as a pre-teen than I was about the boy across the street. We bonded over winter sledding and annual Labor Day Parties, but nothing really transpired from those events. The summer before 9th grade, Rutger and I were involved in a prank war. It consisted of rolling toilet paper onto his lawn, forking my front lawn (and writing "you got forked" in toothpaste onto our front porch, which ended up sticking for four years!), stealing "For Sale" signs and other harmless pranks. One evening, I came home from vacation to find a sign in the front yard that asked, "Homecoming?" and knew it was from him. I attended my first Robinson High School homecoming with the man who would later become my fiance! Fast forward to summer of 2013 and neither of us had close friends at home for the summer - most were at summer camp, internships, or back at school. What started off as hanging out to cure summer boredom turned into sushi dates, trips to the Main Street Pub and baseball games. When we both returned to school for the fall, we were unsure of what to call this - were we dating? Was this just fun for the summer? After spending my fall break at the beach with him (driving 16 hours for one weekend), I knew this was the real deal. We spent my last two years of college and one year post-grad dating long-distance before I moved back to Washington, D.C. After an exhausting, 9-month search for a home in the DC area, we finally found our dream townhouse together (the previous owners had an entire room dedicated to their pug, so I knew it was a sign). He has filled my life with more fun and laughter than I ever could have imagined, and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with him.

When I was in middle school, my next-door neighbors were moving out. They had lived there for as long as I could remember and had created a small petting zoo on their property, complete with llamas, goats, flying squirrels, chinchillas, dogs, cats, birds and more! When the "For Sale" sign went up in their front yard, I was excited to see who had the courage to move into that house after knowing the animals that had inhabited it before. I was in luck - a family with kids my age was moving in! Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I was more interested in playing sports than hanging out with girls (to Emily’s dismay). As time went by, Emily and I became friends and began pulling a series of pranks. One of her best pranks was spending four hours covering my entire room (and all its belongings) with saran wrap. Even though we had a great prank war going, we didn’t start dating until later in college. I remember coming home from school one summer and running into Emily. I asked her if she wanted to get sushi and catch up, which she agreed to. I’ll never forget our first date when Emily ordered SIX California-style rolls. She thought it would only be six pieces... needless to say, we had two massive boats of sushi delivered to our table with the couple next to us challenging us to finish it - they promised to pay if we did! That summer we had a blast roaming around DC, going to Nats games, hiking with Carlee and hitting the pub. However, summer ended and we both went back to school. I remember inviting myself down for a football game and had so much fun I didn’t want to leave. It was at that moment I knew Emily was special and I wanted to be with her. After we moved back home together, I knew Emily was the one. Emily has been the one who has consistently challenged me to be the best person I can possibly be, as well as put up with my childish humor. I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together!

As many know, I am a Friends fanatic. I've seen every episode at least 10 times, take (and score 100%) every Buzzfeed quiz on Friends trivia, and fall asleep to it almost every night, much to Rutger's chagrin. I had mentioned a few years ago that I would love to receive a proposal similar to how Monica proposes to Chandler (season 6). On October 19, my friend Alex was visiting for the weekend. We got our nails done, grabbed Chipotle and laid low to watch the Gamecocks lose to Florida. We had decided to get sushi for the evening before making plans to go out in Old Town. Rutger had told us he would meet us in Old Town, but he had a dinner planned with his boss and the large boss of the company, visiting from Scotland. I didn't think much of it! Alex and I got our sushi rolls and caught up during dinner before heading home to get ready for the night. As many may also know, I have terrible eyesight, and I should wear my glasses all the time, but I rarely do. So, it wasn't until we pulled up RIGHT in front of the house that I noticed "For Sale" signs in the front yard that said, "Will You...". I looked at Alex in the car and said, "Oh my god, is this happening right now?" We walked inside to the entire living room covered in candles and rose petals, along with signs that said, "Walk the dog...", "Do the dishes...", and "Fold my laundry." Around the corner, Rutger was standing with a sign that said, "Spend the rest of your life with me". He got down on one knee and proposed, exactly how Monica proposed to Chandler. :)