I first met Brian in August of 2019. We were both new to BGSU. I don't remember my first interaction with him, I just remember him being my sister's boyfriend's quiet, but funny, best friend. For most of my first semester at BG, we rarely talked. It wasn't until he asked me to his fraternity's date party I got to know him more. Thanks to the pandemic, we were able to get to know each other over text. This happened to be the best part about the pandemic since we are both introverts (haha). I remember one night waking up long after I first went to bed with a text from him. He waited until he knew I was asleep to ask me out on a date. While this date would not happen for another one to two months, it was well worth the wait.

~Alexis

For our first date, we decided to have dinner together. Due to Covid, we ended up not being able to go out anywhere so we ordered Easy Street Cafe in Bowling Green, Ohio to go and had dinner at my apartment. Before this, we had only texted after being sent home for Covid so, I was very nervous. At this point, we had not seen each other in person for a while and I am very introverted but wanted to make a good impression. I thought dinner went great and we had some good small talk. Very quickly into the date, I felt a lot more comfortable because Lexi is very personable and easy to talk about anything. We ended up having a great time catching up and talking about school and anything else that came to mind. Eventually, we decided to watch a movie so we decided on Frozen 2, which I had never seen before, and definitely was not my first choice. But, I was okay with watching anything, as long as I got to spend more time with Lexi. During the movie, I figured now was the best time to ask her to be my girlfriend but it did not come out exactly how I had intended. Still being a little nervous, I blurted out, "So, are we like, dating now?" to which she replied, "Yes." I was absolutely ecstatic and I could not believe she said yes to my poorly worded question. We most certainly still laugh about it to this day and even after proposing (I promise I worded things better), I had to say, "So, are we like, engaged now?"

-Brian

Alexis: I knew Brian was the one within one month of being in a relationship with him. Every value and dream of mine he shared with me. I think I was ready to say "I love you" after the first few days of dating and ready to walk down the aisle a few weeks later. I never thought someone could become my best friend, life partner, and only true love so quickly. Every day I fall more in love with him. I have always had big dreams, but starting a life with Brian quickly became my number one.

Brian: I knew Lexi was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with shortly after we started dating. Leading up to us starting dating, I remember telling all my friends how absolutely perfect she was in every way. Once we started dating, we really began opening up to each other even more and even though we could still only call and text each other, every day I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have Lexi in my life. Every moment we had chatted or seen each other, it was always so meaningful and I quickly knew she was everything I was looking for in a best friend and life partner.

I definitely knew I wanted to propose to Lexi while we were doing something we both enjoyed. We had grown to love going camping together and I always knew her favorite place to go was the beach. So I figured, why not plan a camping trip somewhere near a beach and I can do it then? Finding the exact place was honestly the easiest part. Our first camping trip we went on together was at East Harbor State Park which we enjoyed a lot (except for a massive storm that came through one evening, everyone around us left but we decided to stick it out). That was definitely the best place to propose because it already had a special place in our hearts. I planted the idea that we go on a fun camping trip around July 4th and invite some friends since we had never taken other people camping with us. While planning the trip, everyone we went with knew I was planning to propose so everyone did a great job keeping it a surprise. I knew it was very important to both Lexi and I that the proposal involved just her and I and enjoying that special moment together. However, I also wanted to make sure we could celebrate after with both our families. I spent some time leading up to the camping trip reaching out to family and friends and set up a cookout we could have on the lake after the proposal that day. The day before the proposal, I had found a moment to ask Lexi, "Hey, would you be interested in waking up early to watch the sunrise at the beach tomorrow?" She knew immediately what was going on because I never get up early. As soon as I finished asking the question, she had a massive smirk on her face so, I knew she knew. The morning of the proposal, we got up and proceeded to get ready and drive to the beach. I had told my friends, Chase and Steven, about my plan and wanted them to get to the beach shortly after we did to try and get some photos of the proposal. While Lexi and I were on the beach, I had to look over my shoulder to make sure Chase and Steven were there for pictures. One I saw them both crouching in a bush, I asked Lexi the most important question of my life and she said yes! We enjoyed the rest of the sunrise together and I subtly said, "Oh, by the way, there's a bunch of people coming for a lunch cookout." We had a fantastic cookout and enjoyed the rest of our day and it was the most amazing day of my life.

The proposal was everything I have ever wanted and more. The setting and time of day were perfect. We had a beautiful sunrise that painted the sky several colors. I think Brian had a good speech, but I cannot remember it because of how excited I was to say "yes!" Being able to celebrate with our family and friends for lunch was the cherry on top. Every time I think back to the proposal, I always get a smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach. I have been counting down the days until the wedding ever since :)

~Alexis

Alexis: I am truly excited for the entire day! This is a day I have been planning for most of my life. The hardest part of wedding planning is waiting for the day to arrive. Besides becoming husband and wife, I am most looking forward to our private first look and walking down the aisle. I cannot wait to see Brian's face when he sees me for the first time during the first look and getting to see all of our family and friends at the wedding :)

Brian: I am definitely looking forward to seeing all of my friends and family, but I am most looking forward to the first look. I already know I am going to cry because of how stunning Lexi will be on our wedding day, but I think this will be the moment when I will be happiest. I think the pictures that come from that moment will be pictures I go back and look at often. I am also very excited for the toasts, I really think there will be a lot of heartfelt moments and also some good comedic relief thrown in.