Kate and I had unknowingly been attending the same church for 6 months when she was posted in a video on the church instagram page. When I saw the video, I knew I needed to find out who she was.

For our first date, I took Kate out to dinner and to see the musical, "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" directed by one of my former coworkers. When I told Kate my plan for the night she was freaked out (I realize now that planning a 6 hour date for our first date / first time meeting each other was a little ambitious). But this was by far the best first date I had ever been on. We enjoyed a lot of laughs during the musical and were able to have some great conversation over energy drinks on the ride to St Joe and back.

Also very ambitiously, I asked Kate to come to Trenton, MO to meet my family before we had even been dating for two weeks (I already had a good feeling at this point). We ran into my friend (and now our wedding officiant) Chris at lunch, and he invited us to hang out that night. Getting to know Chris and his wife Rachael (and Mama K) really boosted Kate's confidence in me as a serious dating prospect.

Unfortunately, Kate had to work on New Year's Day and was unable to come with me to Columbia, MO on New Year's Eve to celebrate. But before I left, I met Kate at a hole-in-the-wall diner called Rosie's in Independence, MO. After breakfast, we sat in my car in the parking lot talking for at least an hour before we went our separate ways. Kate later told me that this was the day she fell in love with me.

Finally, after a month of dating, Kate felt comfortable bringing me home (Humboldt, IA) to meet her family. I had been highly anticipating meeting the most important member of the family, Koe. We celebrated a late Christmas, opened presents, and played the card game cocktails. This was also the weekend that we said I love you for the first time.

Easter weekend was a big landmark in our relationship. We went Humboldt, IA to celebrate with her family, and I got to meet Gramps and Granny for the first time. Gramps and I really hit it off, and he took me back to give me the tour of his tool collection. On the drive back home to KC, Kate told me that after that weekend, she knew she wanted to marry me. (I had known for at least 3 months at this point... but who's counting?)

Before heading to Humboldt for the weekend, we stopped at Meierotto Jewelry in KC and looked at engagement rings.

While Kate was getting ready for her friend Abby's wedding, Scott and I grabbed lunch after a round of golf at Humboldt Country Club. I asked him for permission to marry Kate, and he said yes!

In the last week of July, I finally got to visit Kate's favorite place that she had been telling me about for months - Madeira Beach, FL. We had breakfast at the Frog Pond, ice cream and candy at Candy Kitchen, and found over 150 sand dollars at Fort De Soto. Most importantly, though, we booked our wedding venue and officially decided we would have our wedding on the beach - a dream Kate has had since she was a little girl.

As soon as we got back from our trip to Madeira Beach, I met with Kate's maid of honor, Grace, to start planning the proposal. This was the beginning of weeks of lying to Kate and coming up with the perfect way to surprise her.

Finally, 10 months and 4 days after meeting my favorite person, I asked her to marry me. Kate had made it very clear that there was no chance I could surprise her with my proposal - challenge accepted. When Kate arrived at Loose Park for a fake picnic organized by her community group, I popped out from behind some bushes to surprise her. I walked her over to a spot I had set up by the water and popped the question. She said yes!