Her story:

The beginning:

I had just turned 30, adopted a puppy, and was entering my last year of residency in Cincinnati, so I decided to give dating apps one last try before potentially leaving the city. I came across John about a week later in June of 2022 and asked him a question about his favorite kitchen gadget, which was a meat thermometer. The conversation that followed was natural. This led to several dates in short succession including a cooking class a few weeks later with just one other guest, a woman named Kathy. During this class, I learned that not only did John love kitchen gadgets, he had gone to cooking school and was a skilled chef. We continued the date at a nearby ice cream parlor and sat on a bench talking into the wee hours of the night.

This was the beginning of a lovely summer together filled with many more fun dates and effortless long talks that made it quickly feel like I had known him for years. After seven weeks of dating, John took me to the Hilton Nederland hotel to try his favorite old fashioned and asked me to be his girlfriend. A few weeks later in September of 2022, I decided to move to Chicago for a one year neurocritical care fellowship starting the following summer, but I already knew that I loved John and was fairly confident we'd be back in Cincinnati getting married when my fellowship was over.

The proposal:

On May 30th, 2023, John picked me up for dinner at Boca, one of the nicest restaurants in Cincinnati. This was a reservation he had made in front of me, under the guise of "celebrating the end of my adult neurocritical care rotation." This honestly didn't phase me, because he had mentioned wanting to go to Boca with me before, and we like to dress up and go to nice restaurants from time to time.

This dinner was pleasant but did not seem terribly out of the ordinary to me. We had plans to walk to the Hilton Nederland hotel for old fashioneds after dinner, and as we were walking, I started rambling about the NBA playoffs, and John didn't say much. He was holding my hand, and I noticed that he was kind of shaky. I was a little suspicious but still not really sure what was happening. He then directed me slightly out of the way to Fountain Square, where a jazz band had just finished performing. As he started to propose, I asked him, "is this really happening?" To which he responded, "do you want this to happen?" and then proceeded to continue with his speech. I also noticed that a photographer was taking our pictures, and I asked about that as well. I was elated to say "yes" when he got down on one knee and was particularly touched that he proposed with my grandmother's ring, which he had managed to get from Texas with the help of my parents' neighbors. John's best friend, Alex, emerged with celebratory flowers and champagne, and we proceeded onward to the Hilton to celebrate with friends and of course, old fashioneds, before calling family to share the wonderful news.

His story:

The Beginning:

In the summer of 2022, I was thrilled to have a date with a beautiful woman. I was nervous at first, and after a few hours of chatting with her was even more nervous, realizing how sharp and funny she is; a total babe. I left excited to get to know her more and hoped that she felt the same way about me. We went on to have many fun adventures together - cooking, traveling, solving a murder mystery, and growing together as a couple. I found my best friend.

The Proposal:

Confident that I wanted to marry Delaney, I made a reservation at a fancy Downtown Cincinnati restaurant, hired a photographer, had my friend Ellen take Delaney out to get their nails done, and strategically placed my best friend, Alex, behind a trash can with Champagne and flowers to celebrate my hopeful success. I even staked out Fountain Square ahead of time to check the lighting and make sure the weekly jazz concert ended by the time I was planning on asking.

The big day arrived, and I could tell Delaney was suspicious, but still unsuspecting of plans that evening. Dinner was tasty, but Delaney, who usually eats very slowly, finished faster than anticipated. After collecting myself/stalling in the bathroom, I texted Alex and the photographer that we were about to make our approach. I told Delaney that I wanted to get a drink at Netherland Plaza, the place where I asked her to be my girlfriend. As we walked to the Square on the way to the Plaza, I could feel my nerves getting the best of me. Delaney was telling me about the NBA playoffs, but I could hear the jazz band playing in the distance – they were supposed to be done by now! Having set everything in motion, I decided at that instant to continue with the plan, stopping us in front of the fountain. I’m not sure when the band finished playing, because it was just Delaney and me at that moment. I looked her in the eyes and started telling her how much I love her. Delaney asked me “John, what are you doing?”. Asking if she wanted me to stop, she said “no”, and I continued to tell her how I can’t imagine a future without her. I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me, to which she said yes. Still shaking from the adrenaline, I put the ring on her finger, and we celebrated the wonderful news with strangers, the photographer, and Alex in the square, our friends waiting at Netherlands Plaza, and our families on the phone.