It all started when a retired Spelling Bee champ (Clare) liked the Hinge profile of a Geography Bee legend (Taylor) in December of 2021. I know. I know. She made the first move. How taboo!

Sparks flew over margaritas on their first date at Taco Buddha— so electric that is, Clare’s margarita flew right out of her glass and onto Taylor’s lap. She assured him this was very on-brand. To her delight, that didn’t scare him off, and the night carried on with two more stops: a drink at SOHA and last call at Tamm Ave Bar.

After knowing each other just a couple weeks, Taylor asked Clare to be his date to a wedding he was in. Funny enough, Clare knew the bride. They went to Eastern Illinois Univeristy together. That wedding kicked off a year of celebrating love together—they attended 14 weddings in the first 12 months of their relationship.

Though they both grew up in small-town Illinois, just 25 minutes apart they didn’t meet until life brought them to St. Louis. As fate would have it, they had many mutual friends, overlapping stories, and even discovered that Taylor had once attended one of Clare’s sorority functions —but they’d never met.

Then came a beautiful afternoon in April 2024. What Clare thought was just a casual afternoon supporting Taylor at a lame happy hour for his MBA program turned out to be the moment that would have Clare repeatedly saying, “Is this real life?” Taylor proposed on the patio of 33 Wine Bar amidst candles & flowers as her favorite Taylor Swift song was playing. Photos of their story surrounded them. After she said, “Yes,” both of their families rushed out of the building to congratulate them. Her long-distance best friend also surprised her as she appeared in the crowd. Just when Clare thought it couldn’t get better, Taylor pulled off a surprise engagement party with their closest friends. She says it all felt like a dream—and still does.