We're Getting Married!

After a year of hearing about Tyler from her sister Tiffany, Samantha told her it was time to introduce him or he was a ghost. Tiffany reluctantly set up a Chiefs game double date. Why reluctant? Because Tyler's mentor, and Tiffany's husband Daniel, was not sure about mixing business and personal, and Tiffany wasn't sure they were ready. "Who wants to shotgun a beer?" were the first words Samantha ever heard Tyler say. Needless to say the "date" didn't turn out to be a date at all. Daniel body blocked Tyler in conversation and they all laugh about it now. Afterwards, Tiffany asked Daniel if Tyler even knew Samantha was single or this was supposed to be a setup. He didn't. Fast forward to the actual meet cute ... Tiffany and Daniel were married that November, about three months later. Samantha was the maid-of-honor and gave the best MOH speech ever. At the reception, Tiffany was ready to get the single news out to both Tyler and Samantha, but Tyler skipped the garter toss. Tiffany grabbed Sam's hand after she missed the bouquet (hey, apparently they didn't need the luck to get engaged afterall!), and pulled her over to where Tyler was standing. "Hey, you missed the garter toss, are you not single?" Tiffany asked point blank in full on bridal I-get-to-say what-I-want-ness. "Uh, yeah," said Tyler. "Good. Have you met my very single, very hot sister?" Samantha's face turned three shades of red. "I believe I have. Hey Sam, would you like to dance?" And they danced. And danced. And laughed. And when the reception was over they had more to know so they bounced over to the Drum Room at the President hotel. And when the Drum Room closed there was still more to tease each other about. So they sat in the lobby and he was funny and she was funnier. And suddenly it was 5am so they didn't look back.

I (Tyler) went back to Iowa for Christmas and had a lot of time to think on the six-hour drive. Sam had been mentioning that we needed a bigger house since our 2BR 1BA 762SF (bless her) was too small for the two of us, our new pup Penny, and her art studio. I also knew that I needed a ring soon, but didn't have the finances to do both. I met up with my stepmom (Bev) for lunch since we had to discuss my dad's finances since his passing about a year ago. During the lunch, I asked Bev if I could have a portion of my dad's money to buy Sam the ring she deserved. She agreed it was a good idea and that is where it all started. I now had the money to buy a house and put a ring on my best friend. I then started sending Sam houses to look at to get her completely off a potential ring. I contacted her Dad to set up a meeting to ask for his permission. A few weeks later we met up and had a great conversation. He gave me his permission to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. We then thought of having a private dinner where her family could be there for the big moment. We then decided that Brio Tuscan Grill on the Plaza would be a great place to have the engagement/dinner. I just needed to figure out a way to get her there without suspecting anything, so it would be a surprise. I asked my good friends Jordan and Mel (also recently engaged) to send a fake text to Sam inviting us to a double date at Brio. She showed me the text and I realized that she had no clue. It was the night of the engagement and I was super nervous. When Sam walked in the private dining room, she was shocked to find her family sitting around a table. It wasn't until she saw her moms face, with tears in her eyes, that Sam comprehended what was going on and when she turned around Tyler was down on one knee. I am going to be honest my voice cracked since I was so nervous, but she said yes and that's all that matters. A month later we moved into our new house and began a new chapter in our lives.