Alex's Perspective:

It was April 2020 and we were all at home. Like any other single person, I was on all the dating apps looking for my companion. Bri and I matched and had some great conversations. We had a lot in common, both being teachers, and really seemed to hit it off. I asked Bri out on a date and she said... no. Being the weird time that it was, she didn't think it was the best time to try and start a relationship. So "goodbye, good luck" is all she said to me, and unmatched with me.

Flash forward to the fall of 2020, and I was starting my new job at John Warner Middle School. A good portion of my new coworkers had been working with Bri the previous year at Gentry Middle School. One football game, we crossed paths since we had friends in common, and we both ignored each other because of the awkwardness of her turning me down. I told my friends she had ghosted me, left me without a word, and she was the enemy.

As the year went on, I heard more and more about her, how great she was, and how everyone thought we should meet. As luck should have it, that spring of 2021 we matched on a dating app again. I asked her out, and we had our first date at Billiard's. We sat there for three hours, talking and laughing and having the best time. It made up for the year we lost together and we haven't looked back since.

Bri's Perspective:

I matched with Alex on a dating app in April of 2020, which as many of us know, was not the right time to start a relationship. We got along great, but I was worried about everything that was going on in the world, so I decided to turn Alex down when he asked me out. I thought I did it gracefully, but little did I know Alex went scorched Earth and told everyone I had ghosted him. A year later, after seeing each other at school events and in district zooms, we matched again. Alex actually sent the same Forrest Gump gif he had sent the year prior to start the conversation. We decided to go on a date to Billiards. That same day though I was in STL with Kate (bridesmaid) and Kayla (MoH) to visit Ikea and buy Kate furniture for her new apartment. We raced home, and changed and prepped in record time. After a first date that felt incredibly comfortable and fun, I walked out knowing this was someone I wanted in my life. And even though Alex wore a matching Abe Lincoln shirt and mask to meet my friends, and made me watch Caddy Shack on our second date, I fell in love and the rest is history.

Leading up to the engagement, Bri and Alex had been living together for about a year. They had talked about next steps, and knew that marriage was their next goal. They went and found a beautiful ring together, but then Bri was left in the dark. She hates surprises, and Alex wanted the whole thing to be a surprise. But as time neared, some hints were dropped here and there which started to make her suspicious. Alex was not planning on revealing anything, but knew that Bri wanted her nails done for whenever it happened. But this was a dead giveaway. Bri kept asking and theorizing when it may happen, especially since they were about to head to Canada with Bri's family to meet her entire extended family, and Bri had a strong suspicion it would happen there. But Alex was sly enough to know this, and had planned to propose before they left. After Bri had a disastrous nail appointment with Emily (bridesmaid), she headed to her parent's house to drop some stuff off. While there, Emily called Alex telling him to reschedule as Bri was so annoyed about her nails, but the plan was already in motion. Bri hung out with her parents for a bit, which made them confused since they knew she was supposed to be home GETTING ENGAGED. Her mom was frantically texting Alex, and finally got Bri to leave and go home. Not only was Alex anxious for the moment that would change his life, he was also concerned that her favorite dinner he was cooking would go cold waiting for her. When she finally arrived, Alex had bought her favorite flowers (which he had saved in a text from early in their relationship), and was on one knee with Callie by his side. Bri walked in, her hands full with all of her school stuff, and instantly said "Right now?" as she was incredibly surprised. Alex then asked the most important question she had ever heard, and of course she (and Callie) said yes.