The year was 2019, when the stars aligned and our profile pictures graced each others phones on Bumble. I had learned that Mike lived in Augusta, GA; while I was in the midst of my graduate degree in Columbia, SC. Before our first date, Mike suggested he drive in, an hour and 15 min drive which I found to be absolutely bonkers in my mind. I had suggested we meet somewhere halfway (me not knowing the area very well at all) and Mike laughed and just said “there’s nothing halfway… except farmland” 😅

Our first date we met at a brewery, and chatted it up for several hours. Our second date, we met together at a tequila festival, and then the rest was history.

Mike and I have had quite the interesting of relationships, with me moving back and forth every 6 months to fulfill my dreams of being a park ranger. We have made it through thick and thin and despite the long distance, we made it work beautifully.

I wanted to propose to Danielle at Cadillac mountain in Acadia National Park, one of our bucket list destinations. It is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise, so I thought it would be the perfect backdrop for our engagement on our 5 year anniversary.

The day of the proposal, we woke up to find it was freezing cold outside and decided to drive to the top of Cadillac mountain, rather than attempt an early morning hike in the dark. As the sun crested the horizon over the ocean I dropped to one knee (precariously balanced on a boulder) and asked my beeb (Danielle) to be my wife.

After some celebration and several video calls, we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner in Bar Harbor and started wedding plans.