Our relationship officially started in April of 2018, but our friendship and paths have been intertwined since we were in grade school, through the friendship of each other's siblings. Though we weren’t the closest back then, we shared tons of memories and even vacations together while growing up.

It wasn’t until 2017 that conversations started between us, which eventually led to our first unofficial date at our local pizza joint for trivia night. From there, it was hockey games, hiking, walks with Zoey, and—of course—more trivia nights.

In 2019, Meghan asked me, if I wanted to move to Montana with her while she went to grad school to study Occupational Therapy. I originally told her no, out of fear of leaving everything behind and moving so far away from friends and family. We decided to try long distance, but two weeks later, I came to my senses and told her that I wanted to take the next step in our relationship. She was elated to hear that I had finally come around and would be moving with her. We started looking for apartments almost immediately and began planning our big move. Before we knew it, we had a U-Haul loaded up and were on the road for a 13-hour trip to our new home. Our relationship was tried and tested in the midst of scraping by while in school, finding work, and navigating the oddities that came with the pandemic. Over the years, our family grew with more animals and a love greater than we could contain, so we ditched the apartment and moved into our house.

On April 6th, 2024, after a wonderful date day together, I couldn't keep the engagement ring hidden any longer and proposed in the kitchen of our home while making fajitas. If you ask me if that was my initial plan for the proposal, I'll tell you, “No. It was supposed to be on a beautiful summer day with Mt. Rainier in the background.” But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cocktail Hour