we eloped!

Early August 2019, I (Elizabeth) had just joined Match.com, not thinking much of it. John messaged me first that he was on board with everything in my profile, except for liking DC more than marvel. After a week of messaging, John asked me out on our first date to Common Grounds.

John was looking at buying a house in the Temple area, and offered to drive to Waco to go on a date. Because it was move in Waco at Baylor, I asked him to meet me [E] at Common Grounds in Woodway. He was already seated and got up to greet me, and I kid you not the first words that fell out of my mouth were "You're taller than I expected!" Drinks went really well, and turned into getting some Pizza from slow rise to continue the date.

John asked me to be his +1 to his company Christmas party. This was the first night we actually took pictures together, and on the way to drop me off at my car in Belton, I joked that I [E] would keep him around. He asked me "Okay, but like, in what capacity?" We then committed to being in a relationship in the parking lot.

Lots of back and forth between Waco and Killeen (mostly for John). Covid, while at the beginning kept us apart, let us grow and spend a lot of quality time together on the weekends. It was a great thing to look forward to in a season of working from home and never leaving the house!

For our 1 year anniversary, I took John out to dinner at the Baylor club. After our fancy dinner, we drove out to lovers leap. We talked about forever, and John hesitated. I [E] asked him, "That's the plan, right?" He asked if I wanted to know how committed he was, and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes, and went charging in for a hug (he expected me to grab the ring first). He found the exact ring I had sent him a picture of, and ordered it from a custom jeweler in Israel.

Two weeks after he proposed, we got married. In the two weeks before, I found a cake, catered barbecue, got THE perfect dress, and we were married with a handful of our closest family and friends present with the waco skyline in the background. To say it was the perfect day is a complete understatement. Afterwords, we gathered and celebrated at my house.