Celebrate our marriage!

First encounter: Great Falls, MT- June 2015: Vanessa was invited to a house warming party of her friend's girlfriend. Tristan was invited to a party of his boss's daughter. They met so briefly Tristan doesn't remember! But his kindness intrigued Vanessa. Bowling gathering: Tristan sees Vanessa at the bowling alley as the same group of friends gather a few weeks later. This time Vanessa doesn't remember! But her smile charmed Tristan. Scavenger hunt: Some flirting happened at the downtown scavenger hunt, and Tristan invited Vanessa to a football tailgate in the fall. She had never been to Bozeman, so she agreed to the adventure. Next encounter: Vanessa kicked Tristan's butt at foosball 3 games in a row while hanging out with their friends. This affirmed Tristan's interest, and Vanessa admired his modesty. Movie night: Vanessa invited Tristan over for a movie on a Friday evening. Something just felt right. The Bozeman trip - Sept. 2015: Tristan drove Vanessa through parts of the Big Sky Country that she's never seen. She was captivated by the scenery, and delighted by the company. He was excited by the discussion, and knew she was the right one to bring to his family. He asked her to be his girlfriend, she pleasantly accepted; and you know the rest!

Tristan suggested the two of us go and see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. I agreed that it was a good idea. For the following few weeks, Tristan watched the bloom forecast like a hawk. The day we planned to go finally arrived! 4-06; later we realized that it was Montana day. Tristan told me I needed to dress up because the only place available for brunch was fancy. I assembled an appropriate outfit, and we were off to the Tidal Basin. We arrived and the cherry blossoms were beautiful. We strolled along admiring the trees and counting the engagement photo shoots (we spotted 20 that morning!). When we arrived at the FDR memorial, Tristan asked if I wanted to take some pictures. I agreed and we snapped a few shots. We walked a little further and spotted a particularly pretty tree. Tristan suggested we take a picture under it, and we waited for the current couple standing by to finish their photo. Tristan was holding my hand as we waited next to a wall, and I thought to myself, "Why isn't he letting me move past this wall?" The couple moved and we proceeded towards the tree. As I put my jacket down on the bench, he pulled out a small wooden box behind me. When I turned around, he opened the box and got down on one knee. I saw him and the gorgeous Montana sapphire ring, and of course, went through many emotions in about 2 minutes. First I was ecstatic (i.e. giant smile), then relieved (i.e. shouting, "finally!"), next I was overcome with joy and starting bawling. At this point Tristan saw me crying and panicked. Worry crossed his face. He blurted, "You mean everything to me. Will you marry me?" I giggled while tears continued to stream down my face and exclaimed, "Of course!" He immediately took off my promise ring and replaced it with my "real" ring. Then he said, "Look behind me." My sister, best friend, and their partners we standing there waiting to congratulate us.! Absolutely perfect.