Nick and Lauren lived in neighboring apartments during her first year/his second year of graduate school. They were introduced by Lauren’s roommate, Tenzin, who was a good friend of Nick’s in college. Along with Tenzin and Alex Gariti (Nick’s best man), Lauren and Nick spent the day together on her first Saturday in Madison. They went paddle boating on sunny Lake Monona and ate tacos. Nick continued to show up at Lauren’s apartment to “hang out with Tenzin,” and their friendship bloomed. Nick eventually got out of the friend zone and the rest is history.

Leading up to the proposal, Nick knew Lauren would be hard to surprise. He booked her schedule with dates for the whole month of September, secretly planning the proposal for a perfect Saturday morning. He proposed on September 19th at Picnic Point, one of their favorite spots to walk and sit by the beach. Nick was skipping rocks, as always, but the surprise came when he pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked Lauren, “what about this rock?” They had a perfect weekend, surrounded by the love of family and friends.