We’re getting married!

Please RSVP no later than December 11th.

Taylor and I met at a Mumford and Sons music festival our junior year of college. A mutual friend introduced us and we hit it off instantly. Just kidding. We went our separate ways and instantly forgot about each other, after Taylor was done making fun of my cool US flag hat, that is. Four years later, we met on Bumble. For those who don’t know, Bumble is a dating app where you swipe left on a person’s profile if you don’t like them, or right if you do. I swiped right because I thought she was extremely attractive and I liked the way she described herself in her bio. She swiped right on me because she liked my dog. We started messaging (she sent the first message) and we set up a date to see the movie La La Land. I was late to our first date, naturally. After the movie I asked if she wanted to go get a drink. She said no (she’ll tell you she had a valid excuse, yeah ok). But being the nuisance I am I kept after it because I knew she was special. She agreed to go out with me again for tacos, then a third time at Top Golf. When she beat me by a long shot, I knew she was the one. We started seeing each other regularly and became “official.” Not long after, I found out I had gotten a job I really wanted in Colorado. Perfect timing. So, after only 4 months of dating I moved states and wasn’t sure where things would lead. Come to find out, Taylor had wanted to live in Colorado since she was a kid and after a grueling 4 months of long distance dating she followed me like a complete and utter crazy person. She, her dog, and her cat moved in with my dog Dave and me. I had never had an indoor cat or indoor girlfriend, and I can’t choose which one to tell you I was more nervous about. Thinking on it now I can’t imagine my life without them and we can’t wait to make this family of five official.

I wanted to do something extravagant, like be on the big screen at a Rockies game or onstage at a concert of one of our favorite bands. But that just isn’t Taylor’s speed, so I had to go to plan B. One of our favorite things to do together is go hiking with our dogs, so I knew that had to be a part of it. After thinking about it for a very long time (too much time if you ask her) I found the perfect spot. It’s called Pulpit Rock; it’s this giant rock formation sticking out of the ground right by where we live. I picked it because it’s right by the highway, so every time we drive by it, even if we move away eventually, we’ll think of that moment. So, the perfect day came. It was Saturday, April 7th, with a predicted high of around 75. I knew it was now or never. We woke up earlier than normal (aka 10 AM) and decided to go on a “spontaneous” hike. The hike up was no cakewalk. We missed a turn, hiked much farther than we were expecting, then the last stretch was practically a straight up climb. But man was it worth it. The view from up there is incredible. You can see the entire city of Colorado Springs, the place we’ve really come into our own as a couple, and a fantastic view of Pike’s Peak. We made our way to a relatively secluded spot, I dug the ring out of our hiking backpack, and got down on one knee. She said yes, thank God, so I stood up, we kissed, hugged, and definitely didn’t cry like babies. Meanwhile, our dogs were losing their absolute minds. They wrapped us up a few times with their leashes. It took us longer than I’m willing to admit to unravel ourselves and recompose. After the mandatory selfies, we took in the views for a long time, just holding each other and reveling in the moment. Finally, the dogs couldn’t stand not moving any longer, so we made our way back down. We’ve been on some good hikes before, but that one is going to be hard to ever beat.