Zimmer and I met like most singles do these days... online. After a few days of intentional conversation, witty banter, critical errors, story telling, and a lot of good one liner's from Zim's side - he asked me on our first date. Axe throwing. I left my house that night in a cream sweater, jeans, and booties. He called me on the drive and kept me laughing the entire time. As I pulled into the parking lot, he described his current location. Outside of the underground East Tennessee Axe Throwing. On the street corner. Standing by a stop sign. No street lights around. Illuminated by darkness. Accompanied by a statue like figure that resembled Edgar Allen Poe... perfect. I parked and he met me at my car. He was wearing a forest green pullover, jeans, and basketball shoes. We cracked up as we took a picture where he was standing when he called me - the most terrifying entrance ever. We went downstairs to the basement full of weaponry, and Zimmer requests they play Tyler Childers, very fitting for a night of romance and axes. He tried to give me tips and walk me through it. I quickly became uber competitive and began to growl when I realized that this was not my forte. Thankfully, he is also a weirdo and says he loved it. After many missed shots, sassy banter, flirty gazes, and fits of laughter. We left to spontaneously go mini golfing. He hyped me up to hit the ball with more force. I smacked it and screamed "CUTE AGGRESSION". Now, a frequent term in our vocabularies. We headed to grab a bite to eat at Smoky Mountain Brewery, which consisted of french fries and tater tots. They had a live band playing that night, and Neon Moon came on. I will never forget the look Zimmer gave me. It made me so nervous that I immediately blurted out "Don't look at me!" to which he responded in a fit of confused laughter, "What?! It's a date! I'm GOING to look at you!" On the way back to my car, we drove through a neighborhood that had a beautiful display of Christmas lights up. I admired them by saying, "Wow, look at their lights! Those are so beautiful!" And without hesitation he said, "Ehh, I give it a 6 out of 10." I laughed so hard. I joke that it was in that moment that I fell for him. He took me back to my car in that creepy parking lot. Gave me the best hug I had ever had. And we told each other goodnight. Until that point, we had both prayed for someone to just have fun doing life with. After that night, we felt like we may have found them.

Zimmer picked me up for what I thought was a night of fancy dinner and dancing to celebrate my twentieth birthday. He brought me the most beautiful bouquet of white roses and mom took some photos of us before we left. I heard some whispering between them as we were leaving, but I assumed it was him talking to her about what he had gotten me - which turns out, was accurate. We went to Kefi, which is a fancy meditteranean spot in Downtown Knoxville. It was so delicious. I was relaxed and enjoying all of the moments. When we left, I kept trying to walk at a slow pace and take it all in - which I started to notice was stressing Zimmer out for some reason. We got in the truck and he drove us to World's Fair Park. I was beyond confused. It's my birthday... why are we here? And why is he acting so weird? He took my hand and we began to walk. We stopped on a bridge and looked up at the sunsphere. He asked me, "Does the sunsphere have any sentimental meaning to you?". Of course, me killing the moment was just like, "Ehh, no. Not really." I felt his weight shift as he says, "Well, it does now." I was stunned as I saw him get to his knee. "Abby... will you marry me?" I was flooded with joy and peace and received such confirmation from the Lord. "Yes!" We couldn't contain our excitement while taking photos. Giggling, screaming, thanking God for one another. Then, Zimmer says that we have to head to our next spot. He pulled into a parking garage, and we began to walk into Market Square. He leads me to the restaurant, Oliver Royale. As soon as we step inside, the entire place gets on their feet. Clapping, cheering, whistling. The excitement and celebration in that place was something we will never forget. Our family was at the table in the center of the restaurant. We got to celebrate together with all of them. We ended our night on a rooftop, just holding each other and thanking the Lord for his goodness and love. It was the best night of our entire lives. This is the person we always prayed for. We're so excited to walk into this beautiful new season of life together! We can't wait to celebrate with you!