Maddie's Perspective:

Michael and I first met in late summer of 2017. I had just graduated from Gustavus and had moved back home to the Twin Cities. One Friday, Molly, one of my oldest childhood friends, invited me to a game night with her new boyfriend (now husband!) Jake and some of his friends.

At the game night, everyone had arrived except for Jake’s college friend Michael, who was a few minutes late. I’ll always remember when Michael walked in and—after introducing himself to me—started talking about the MN Twins game. Growing up in a huge MN sports fan family, I felt an immediate connection!

Over the next few weeks, I not-so-subtly asked Molly for more details about Michael. She said she didn’t know him that well, but she knew he liked Asian cuisine and was “able to hold down a job.” Hmm, not exactly selling it, Molly!

But a couple weeks later, the friend group had another game night, and Michael asked me out to dinner. He told me later he kept looking for the opportunity to talk to me alone the whole evening, but never got the chance. However, right as I was about to get into my car and head out for the night, Michael rushed up to me and asked for my number. We had our first date less than a week later, and we’ve been together ever since!

Our first photo together :)

Michael's Perspective:

Maddie and I had been dating for three and a half years—and living together for awhile—and had talked about taking the next big step in our relationship. We started by picking out the ring together, but I decided that the proposal itself would be a surprise.

Centennial Lakes Park in Edina has a special place in our hearts: we walk at this park nearly every day and we both love how picturesque and well-designed it is. Secretly, I planned the location: along the path there is a secluded, hedged-in garden that is away from all the buzz of the park. Minnesota weather is notorious for its unpredictability, so when we finally had a warm, sunny day in the forecast for April 3rd, I mentally locked it in.

When the day came and we were walking through the park, Maddie called out that we should stop for a minute in the garden. Trying (unsuccessfully) to remain calm, I asked her to take a seat on the bench and everything seemed normal to her. That is, until she looked up and saw me struggling to light a pair of tea candles that I had stashed in my pocket. A moment later, I pulled out the ring and was down on my knee asking her to marry me.

We are so excited to start this new chapter of our lives together!