On Friday, August 25th, Gage and I went to a sweet dinner at a restaurant in West Loop. Little did I know, behind the scenes of this Friday dinner date, Gage had been scheming the weekend ahead. In the weeks leading up, he had purchased a ring, “swung by” Cincinnati to ask my parent's permission (another wonderful story!), and orchestrated a full engagement weekend, starting that evening.

The next day, I went on a run with a friend who then invited Gage and I to her place for a grill out. Gage instead suggested that we go for a picnic by the lake.

A lake picnic isn’t out of the ordinary for us, in fact, it's one of our favorite things to do in Chicago. Given the frequent lake trips we make, I’ve learned very quickly that transporting food there often proves more difficult than relaxing. So, I asked Gage if we could just cook tacos at my place before heading over (adding just one more obstacle for him to dodge ahead of the proposal.)

Around 4:30 p.m., Gage arrived in front of my apartment with a picnic basket in hand. Shortly after ubering to the lake and arriving at his selected location, I peeked into Gage’s backpack to find his work laptop. One of the things I admire most about Gage is his innovative spirit — he’s constantly telling me about new business ideas and companies he’s discovered. As much as bringing a work laptop on a date is not so romantic and had me somewhat surprised, I still managed to convince myself he would not be proposing that night. Just another day with two business nerds, I guess.

I continued to talk myself out of it, even as Gage pulled out the perfect picnic from the bag he packed. We enjoyed our favorites from around the city (including Avli olive oil and bread!) and talked about our past weeks. After we wrapped up eating, he pulled out the laptop. Much to my surprise, no new company research was presented to me. Instead, he pressed play on a video of our pictures and memories. We enjoyed the time reminiscing, and shortly thereafter, Gage got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the most special moment, and, as my face shows in the pictures, I was surprised and ecstatic.

After the proposal, we headed to dinner where both sets of parents were there to share in the celebration. It was truly the icing on top to the best weekend!

We are thrilled to enter into marriage together, and blessed to have two wonderful families and countless friends to celebrate with. Thank you all for your constant love and support. We can’t wait for you to be a part of our special day!

Registry