During my senior year, and Killian's junior year of college, we met through a mutual friend at the place most romance is born… at Sports Bar in Downtown Fargo. What I thought was just a casual encounter turned out to be something much more! As the school year neared its end, our casual group hangs at Herd and Horns and downtown evolved into something more, even as Killian moved back home for the summer. On a visit to him in the Twin Cities I will never forget the butterflies I got as he came to pick me up for what I might consider our first official date (Killian would definitely argue with me on this). We spent the day exploring downtown St. Paul and it was one of the best days ever.   Despite the physical distance, our connection grew through frequent FaceTiming. A few short weeks after our “first” date, Killian made a trip to Fargo where I officially said 'yes' to being his girlfriend on June 1, 2019 where it all began — at Sports Bar! Navigating through the pandemic, Killian and I took a significant step by moving into my parent’s house, offering us insight into what life would look like living together. Celebrating our one-year anniversary, we got the keys to our apartment, calling it home for two years. Outgrowing it, and after a series of offers, we joyously had an offer accepted on Good Friday in 2022 and moved into our house a few months later. This major decision felt right; we'd found our best friends in each other and were prepared for the next chapter. I knew Tori was the one after a short amount of time living together. Our evenings were filled with shared dinners and just being in each other's company. Living together was easy and just seemed right. The home-buying process wasn’t extremely smooth for us but the whole experience made our relationship stronger. After settling into our new routine, I was confident we made the right decision and that it was time to seal the deal! Tori and I went ring shopping once in 2021 and nothing ever really came of it, but I knew she was set on what she liked. Over a year later Tori had a meeting at Royal Jewelers, and in true Tori fashion, she managed to slip me Kelsey’s business card… not once but three times. Admittedly, that gave me the nudge to go chat with Kelsey. In December 2022, I went into Royal Jewelers for my first of many meetings with Kelsey. Together Kelsey and I customized a ring for Tori, it was a really great experience. I sent the ring to my parents because I didn’t want to risk it getting mixed up in the 15 daily Amazon deliveries Tori gets. Once I brought the ring home, I rotated it between my golf bag, under the couch, and my work bag. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure she didn’t come across it. Killian, newly employed, explained their holiday party was in April due to year-end busyness. Though his unusual offer to help me choose an outfit for a supposed award dinner at the party raised slight suspicions, I went along with it. We're typically terrible at keeping secrets from each other, so I was impressed he managed this surprise—even though my faint suspicions had me prepared with fresh nails and a great hair day! Securing our families' support was important to me, so after getting her dad’s blessing I asked Tori’s sister to help plan the big surprise. The plan unfolded on Good Friday at Drekker, one of our favorite breweries and date spots. I told her I had a work event, and surprisingly, I kept my cool and it went great. I have no idea what I said once I got down on a knee, all I know is that she was really excited. Later we both realized I never actually asked her to marry me… I did then, and she said 'yes,' again! We walked into Brewhalla, revealing the final surprise—a celebration with our families and closest friends! It was truly a perfect day, but we can't wait to top it on September 7th with ALL of our favorite people!