We are KEITH and BROOKE, and this is our story.

We met online. On a dating app called Bumble. For those of you who met your spouse online in the You’ve Got Mail days, or before then like when you had stone and chisel your sweet nothings to each other, things have changed.

Brooke, a devil-may-care Texan, had abandoned the stogy confines of familial stability and fled the great state of Texas to North Carolina. With no one but herself, cowgirl boots and a few (quite a few) bottles of Texan wine, she blazed saddles and hitched it to the city of Raleigh. She perched herself in Skyhouse downtown, to look out over the city in search of opportunity, love, and adventure. She spent her evenings meeting new people and downloaded the dating app to try and find a potential suitor.

But alas, dating this way is sort of like pin the tail on the donkey. Filtering through the potential suitors is more of a chore than a pleasure. Brooke had resigned herself to go back to the old fashion way of things. She was about to delete the app when, chance struck, and she matched with a boy named Keith...

Boom. A cute gif was enough to break the ice. #ConsiderMeIntrigued. Keith whiled her away with dazzling conversation and a few more choice gifs, and they agreed to a date at Barcelona wine bar. (This very spot would later become the only food her parents would eat when visiting) She told him she would be 15 minutes late. Naturally, he asked why not just move it back. She replied that she would always be 15 minutes late no matter the time, and just to plan for it that way. So there he was, sitting at a table, when Brooke Berry came swirling into the room to capture his heart.

And then they were talking all the time. Brooke showed him opera, Keith showed her Raleigh. Some time goes by, and they discover they both like Weimaraners. It turns out that a breeder Keith knows of just had a litter, and oh wouldn’t it be fun to just go see them? Next thing you know, WHAM dog baby.

They drove to Texas in one day together, they weathered the pandemic, together, they went to the outer banks, and completely revamped Keith’s backyard. They got to know each other's friends and family, and for the most part, things just worked. And they talked about the future and dreams of what may come.

More time passed, and they began to discuss the ‘M’ word…..MARRIAGE. Keith found the ring, the one ring to rule them all! He plotted and planned a special day, on a special weekend in the mountains. He planned for a short (very short) hike to a scenic waterfall where he would pop the question. Well, cursed by his own ego, he refused to heed the park rangers warning when they arrived at the hiking spot on a busy memorial day, and parked in the only spaces left in the bottom lot. They did not take the bus to the top lot, Keith leading them to instead hike the “short” distance it seemed to be on the map. Short, perhaps as the crow flies, but essentially vertical the whole way. Brooke became increasingly ill tempered, and Keith tried as he might to reassure her that it would all be worth it in the end.

They reached the waterfall! And Brooke, trying her best to enjoy the scene and resist pushing Keith off the side of the mountain, turned back to face him and found him on one knee! Hurray!

It was this special event, and all the events in each of our lives before and since that will bring us to our wedding day, and we are so excited to share it with the people that mean so much to us both!