It all started one night when fate — and a mutual friend — brought us both to the Levee. We were walking down opposite sides of the steps when I saw my friend and stopped to say hi. I happened to be carrying a case of beer, and Dalton (always the gentleman) asked if I needed a hand. That small moment turned into a long conversation, and before we knew it, the rest was history. What began as a chance encounter quickly became something unforgettable — and the start of our favorite story.

Dalton planned our proposal perfectly… well, almost perfectly — mostly because I tried my absolute best (unintentionally) to ruin it. He had everything set up in Switzerland with the most stunning views, a whole trip planned out, and even hired a photographer. But of course, I decided to keep changing our plans, so he had to change the proposal location twice. Then, on the actual day, I told him I wanted to cancel our plans altogether and go sledding instead. He almost had a heart attack. After some serious convincing (on his part), we finally headed to the town where he was supposed to propose. We got there about 30 minutes early, and he “went to the bathroom” for twenty minutes to stall — I was just sitting there getting annoyed, completely unaware of the chaos happening behind the scenes. Meanwhile, he got a message from the photographer saying that the church where he planned to do it was under construction, so she had to find a new spot. Dalton was internally freaking out while I was just wondering what was taking him so long. We started walking to the new spot, which happened to be straight downhill, and I kept saying how I didn’t want to walk down there — but he was oddly persistent. When we finally got to the bottom, he got down on one knee, and I immediately started telling him to get up because someone was coming (it was the photographer, obviously). I was completely shocked, overwhelmed with love, and couldn’t believe it was actually happening. After the proposal, we had a little photoshoot, and then went to a local bar to grab celebratory drinks. When we got back to the hotel, Dalton had arranged for the staff to decorate the room with champagne, rose petals, and chocolates. That night, he even had dinner reservations at a Swiss castle. It truly was the most perfect proposal and day — and I still can’t believe Dalton managed to pull it off after all my accidental sabotage attempts.

Life together has been such a fun and busy adventure. We moved into our townhome in Huntington and have really made it feel like home. Dalton has started his career as an optometrist at Bailey Eye Care in Barboursville, and I’m still in medical school at Marshall, currently doing my clinical rotations. Between work and school, our schedules can get pretty hectic, but we always make time for each other — and for our golden retriever, Denver and our new Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, Bogey. Some of our favorite parts of the week are the simple things: taking Denver and Bogey on walks, working out together, playing pickleball, or spending time with friends and family. Even with everything we have going on, we love the life we’ve built and the little routines that make it ours. It’s been such a sweet season of growing together, supporting each other, and finding joy in the everyday moments.