Our story unofficially began in May 2017, on the first day of our internship at Mars Candy Company in R&D. Both Dave Blackwood and Sharon Platt worked together at DSM and discovered that their kids were interns at Mars that summer, so Olivia and I were told to look out for each other on day one. I remember we were standing in line to get our photos taken for our ID badges and I went over to introduce myself and break the ice. At first, Olivia acted like she didn’t know who I was, but then, oh so casually, remembered (classic move).

That summer was basically a slow-burn crush. We didn’t act on it though. We hung out together with the other interns every day, taking lunch walks, casually strolling by each other's desks and waving like we were in some office rom-com. One day, Olivia insisted that her bagel shop was better than mine. The next day, she woke up super early to get me a bagel and got to work before anyone else to leave my favorite bagel sandwich on my desk for when I got in (I found out later that she was too scared to hand it to me in person). I reciprocated the next day. I was a rising junior; she was a rising senior. Since I wasn’t 21 yet, I missed out on all the intern nights out in Morristown, so I came up with the brilliant idea of hosting “Intern Thursdays” at my parent’s house for pool parties in hopes that Olivia would show up (channeling my inner Gatsby). She finally did, met Dave and Theda, and the rest, as they say, is history. By the end of the summer, we were about to part ways to finish up college. But we had exchanged Snapchats and were snapping almost every day over the next few years as our lives went on their separate tracks.

Olivia decided to go full-time at Mars after that summer, and I returned back to college. Eventually, Olivia moved to NYC, and I finished up college. Over the summer, she casually reached out and suggested, “We should do something before you start work.” Now, I could have easily suggested coffee and kept it low-key, but no, I decided to go big and asked if she wanted to go to Iceland with me. Somehow, she said yes (I still don’t know how that happened.) I figured she’d back out, so I rushed to book the flights for both of us before she had time to rethink it. Over the next month, I planned an adventurous itinerary and packing list, while Olivia booked the Airbnbs along the way.

A few weeks before the trip, I was getting pretty excited, but we hadn’t seen each other in over a year, so I invited her to a lunch date before the trip (obviously). She said she was “too busy at work” but suggested I come into the ~Mars cafeteria~ for lunch with her instead (c’mon really? You really don’t have time to leave work for an hour??). After a bit of convincing, she finally agreed to go, and we still laugh about that moment.

The day of the trip, I was picking Olivia up at her parents' house for the airport, and that was when I met Sharon and got a not-so-intimidating video from Stephen telling me to "take care of his daughter." (I had no idea what I was getting into). On the flight over, Olivia fell asleep on my shoulder and when we arrived, we picked up a manual Suzuki rental car before heading to our first destination. We thought we’d booked a house, but upon arrival, we realized we had booked a single room in the attic with just enough space for a mattress on the floor. There was hardly enough room to open the door. Needless to say, we got very close on that trip. In short, it was an incredible adventure, allowing two extroverted introverts to really get to know each other and—slowly—fall in love.

We both knew this first "date" could go one of three ways: dating, friend-zoned, or never talking again. I, being a naïve guy, was convinced we were definitely dating, but never actually said it out loud. In the following week, we went on a few dates in Lake Mohawk, NJ, and NYC, where Liv casually dropped the bombshell that she had accepted a job offer in Chicago and was moving there for the next 8+ months.

Ouch. That hit hard after such a fast start. I said we’d make it work, but still never confirmed that we were actually dating (yeah, real smooth). Luckily, Chris Zaboji (groomsman), a pilot for Air Wisconsin, was kind enough to give me flight benefits, so I flew to Chicago almost every other weekend to visit. We did all the Chicago things, and even took a trip to visit Colin McGuire (groomsman) in Grand Rapids, Michigan—which, let’s just say, was a bit of a bender. On one of the drives back to Chicago (hungover), during the worst lake-effect snowstorm I’ve ever driven in, Olivia had her first big emotional breakdown, asking, “What are we?” Easy question—obviously, we were dating. But at the time, I was just too busy trying not to die in a front-wheel-drive Camry in a snowstorm to properly articulate it. This was about six months after Iceland, and from then on, we were OFFICIALLY dating.

Now, to complicate things further, I was really bad at showing we were dating while at work without looking like I was just being extra friendly with Olivia (I had just started my first real job, so I had no idea what I was doing and never told anyone). Olivia, on the other hand, was an open book, so I looked like an idiot. We were also going through a company-wide reorg that involved relocation, and to avoid permanent long-distance, I finally bit the bullet and told my boss—and my boss’s boss—that we were dating (they already knew from Olivia). Survived the first six months, learned a lot about women, and gained some emotional maturity.

Then Covid hit. Olivia was stuck in Chicago alone and wanted to get out. She decided to drive all the way back to NJ and spend the "14 days to slow the spread" with me at my parent’s house (yes, in my childhood bedroom). Those 14 days turned into... six months of living with my family. Liv definitely got to know Dave and Theda during this time. After 6 months, she got an apartment in Lake Mohawk, NJ, right on the lake! I basically moved in with her... but like, living out of a suitcase for a few days at a time. About nine months later, her lease was coming up, and during a bike ride at the local state park, I casually suggested we spend the weekend at my parent’s house to use the pool while they were out of town. Liv took this as me saying her apartment was too small for both of us (it kind of was). I tried to recover by asking how much a mortgage would be for a place with more room.

For the record, Liv is ~exceptionally~ good with forms. Five minutes later, she’d filled out a mortgage application on Rocket Mortgage. We were approved. Liv had her real estate license on the side and knew of a house on the market. We visited it, loved it, and without much discussion, put in an offer. Less than 24 hours later, it was accepted. Our parents? Shocked. We hadn’t told them we were buying a house together. Whoops. We didn’t know we were either.

A few years later, after we continued working at Mars, I started thinking about pursuing my hobby of flying planes as a career. I was hesitant to leave the comfort of my corporate 9-5, but Liv basically shoved me into it, saying, "What are you waiting for? You’ll regret it if you don’t!" So, I quit my job and started training to become a commercial pilot. All during this time, Liv was looking to go to the next level at Mars too and really wanted to get her Masters! Living with 3 Virginia Tech grads (my whole family went to VT) for a year had an impact on her and after a long 2 years of study while working full time Liv is also a Virginia Tech Alumni!

Amidst all the moving pieces—career changes for me and higher education for Olivia—life was pretty busy. But let’s be real: Olivia was an absolute catch, my better half, and someone who always kept things interesting. So, naturally, I was planning to propose, but I just hadn’t found the perfect time yet. Unfortunately, as part of my career change, I’d be unemployed for almost a year, and knowing myself, I didn’t want to give myself any excuse to delay the proposal. I had about three months before my full career switch. I’d even been talking to Jordy Black (maid of honor) secretly on the side about Liv’s ring preferences. I had the ring made (she’s a size 3.5, and although the jeweler questioned my measurements, I was confident my iPhone notes page was spot on).

I picked up the ring on a Wednesday, and the next day, we had a trip planned to Blacksburg, VA, for a football game weekend. I brought the ring with me, just in case the moment felt right. I realized this was, without a doubt, my best opportunity to propose. So, I casually suggested that we wake up at an absurd hour the next morning—like 4 a.m.—for a sunrise hike (something we do regularly, but still 4am hurts every time). Olivia, however, was thoroughly exhausted from being the passenger princess and napping the whole way to Blacksburg. She was not on board with this idea. But I pushed, insisting we had to do it.

Here’s the thing—Olivia had given me one very specific instruction: under no circumstances was I to tell Stephen (her dad) my plans earlier than absolutely necessary. Why? Because, according to Liv, he would spill the beans at the drop of a hat. So, I waited until 10 p.m. the night before to ask for his blessing.

The morning of the hike, the alarm went off, and Olivia had absolutely zero interest in joining me on this adventure. But I rallied her anyway (even though it was in her best interest). She complained the entire drive to the hike, and once we got there, she continued the complaints up the dark, steep hill, (she was cold and scared of bears and spiderwebs). When we finally reached the top to witness a breathtaking sunrise above the clouds, Liv was “too cold” and kept asking, “Can we leave now?”

I, on the other hand, was flying my drone to distract her and to capture the moment for posterity. As I was flying it, I heard some commotion coming up the trail from other hikers. This was my moment. I looked at my phone to see a text from Stephen Platt, absolutely ecstatic and welcoming me to the family. That was it. I dropped to one knee, ring in hand.

Liv was shocked.

Six months later, Liv starts showing me dogs for adoption on Facebook daily. As part of my training, I’d be away for about two months, and eventually, I was worn down and agreed we could get a dog. Liv found out we could adopt through Mars Petcare and found a dog in Tennessee. We drove down, picked up our scared lady, Maple, and planned to drive back up to NJ, stopping in Blacksburg for some hiking and dog fun. That was the plan. We didn’t quite factor in that Maple had never left a feeding facility, had no idea what a car was, or what a house even looked like. To say she despised the car would be an understatement. But fast forward a year, and Maple now loves the car, hiking, breweries, and—most importantly—us and our families. Now, Maple can't wait to change her last name to Blackwood in June 2025!

- David