Our Story
Greg and I first met when I was still a senior in high school. It was Cinco De Mayo which was coincidentally Jordan and I's favorite holiday and we decided to meet up with friends at Greg's house. I of course thought that Greg was very funny and cute, but I was heading to Texas in the fall for school so we continued to be friends. During my freshman year of college Greg and I kept in contact while I was away. In the spring of 2012 we began talking more frequently and made plans to hang out when I came home for the summer. Greg took me on our first date the day after I arrived home from College Station. He took me to lunch at the Lazy River Grill and since that day, May 11, 2012 we have been dating! Our first summer of dating was filled with country concerts, fishing at the farm, float trips, Cardinal's games, and so many laughs. At the end of the summer I was returning to Texas and we weren't sure of what would happen as we had only been dating for three months. We decided to give long distance a try. During that semester we had countless phone conversations, Skype Dates, and even a weekend for Greg to visit. Greg experienced all things Aggie as we went to a football game, midnight yell, and took a day trip to Galveston Beach. Through our first six months of dating things became more serious and I decided on a change of major which lead me back to St. Louis to go to SLU and major in nursing.
Being back in the same city was a big change for us and we had to learn to balance my school work with our time spent together. Greg also started a new job contracting for Maritz which required him to travel. The next couple years of dating were filled with many more obligations than our first care-free summer together. Greg was working a 9-5 job that required him to travel, have long conference calls, and put lots of energy into his work. I was taking classes in nursing and doing 12 hour clinicals at the hospital. Between our commitments we found time for date nights, often going to the movies or hanging out with friends. After a couple years of dating and getting closer to graduation and the "real world" talk of the future started coming up more and more frequently. Greg probably heard me talk about getting engaged hundred of times, but he wanted to do it on his own terms. Greg was not going to propose simply because I was graduating or because someone else deemed it to be the right time. Greg waited until he felt we were ready for marriage both as a couple and as individuals.
The Proposal
After four and a half years of dating, Greg asked me to spend the rest of my life with him! The proposal took place on November 23, 2016. It was the night before Thanksgiving. Every year we spend the night before Thanksgiving getting together with friends from high school reminiscing. Our friends planned on going to Helen Fitzgerald's that night and Greg suggested that we go to dinner before. We went to Basso at the Cheshire for dinner. It was a very romantic restaurant and Greg seemed nervous, which was cute. After dinner we drove into Forest Park. I was confused what we were doing there until we parked at an empty parking lot and Greg said that we should take a walk. At this point I kind of figured out what was happening and got butterflies! I had been waiting for this moment for so long and it was suddenly here and I was so excited/happy/nervous! We walked until we got to the Jewel Box which is where Greg's parents got married. Greg got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said YES and he gave me the most beautiful ring! We immediately called his parents to share the good news and stopped by my house and surprised my Mom. My Dad kept the secret so well that she had no idea when it was coming! After that, we went to Helen's to meet up with all of our friends and it felt like a huge celebration of our engagement. It was such a fun night getting to see everyone who had spent time with us while we were dating and celebrate with all of them. Ginny was coming in from Wisconsin and heading to Helen's as well and we got to surprise her too! And from that night on... our world has been filled with wedding planning :)