Before I even met Ted, I had heard so much about him. My best friend and maid of honor Taylor had tried to set me up with Ted for about a year before I finally agreed. She insisted that we would be perfect together, since we both loved the Rocky movies and we both drank the same kind of beer. I was a little hesitant since we were going to meet on a blind date, but I agreed to go nonetheless. On August 6th, 2016, I hopped into the backseat of Jack’s car with Jack and Ted in the front seat and we drove a very awkward 20 minutes to pick up Taylor. Eventually, we picked up Taylor and drove to the Washington County Fair. Our favorite memory from that night is when I went to buy myself a corn dog at a stand at the fair. Ted walked with me, and since I wouldn’t let him pay, he grabbed a few napkins for me. A few bites into the corn dog, ketchup was all over my face and I asked him for a napkin. He dropped the napkin into my hand and it was squished into a tiny little ball- he had been squeezing it in his hand since he was so nervous while we were talking. We both laughed and loosened up a little after that. Neither of us remembers much about what we talked about at the fair, but it must have been pretty great because we ended up holding hands in the back of the car on the way to drop Taylor off at her house. We ended up watching sports jeopardy with Taylor and Jack for the last few hours of the night, and I remember whispering to Taylor, “How the heck does this guy know so much about sports?!” We went on a few more dates that same week, and the rest is history!

Ted and I had been together about a year and a half when lots of big things started happening. We both turned 22, I graduated college, and Ted’s college graduation was coming up. Ted said he wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday and my graduation, but where we were going would be a surprise. In the back of my mind, I was hoping he would propose. However, if you know Ted, you know he hates keeping secrets. I thought that if he was going to propose, he would have spilled the beans to me already. On January 13th, 2018, we got all dressed up to go. Ted’s parents said that they were driving out that way for dinner, and they would drop us off so that we could have a few drinks at dinner and wouldn’t have to worry about driving. On the ride there, they mentioned that there was a gorgeous park nearby and that since we were a little early, we should walk around it for a few minutes. So, they dropped us off at Rice Park in St. Paul, and we walked around. I could tell that Ted was acting a little strange, since it was freezing cold out and we just kept walking circles around the park. Eventually, he got a call from his friend Michael, and they started talking about where Michael could pick up the space heater from Ted that he had left at Ted’s house. I thought to myself, if Ted just answered a call about a space heater, there’s no way that he’s going to propose. We then continued chatting in the park, until Ted got down on one knee and proposed! I was completely surprised and so happy. The next thing I knew, Ted’s friend Michael walked out of the bushes, and had gotten pictures of the whole thing. As it turned out, “space heater” was their code word for when Michael had a good camera angle of Ted and I. After that, we were desperate to warm up from the freezing cold January temperatures, and we ran into the Saint Paul Grill for dinner. We ate an amazing meal and Ted’s parents had gotten us a bottle of champagne as a surprise! Then, as dinner came to an end, Ted told me that his parents were also going to pick us up from dinner. We walked outside, and much to my surprise, Ted had gotten us a limo for the rest of the night. We drove in the limo to my parents’ house and saw my mom, dad, and brother. Next, we drove to my grandparents’ house and saw my grandparents, my aunt Colleen, and my cousin Georgia. Then, we drove out to the farm and saw my great aunt Patty. Ted said that we should stop at his parents’ house and then we should go to a small bar near his house, Kelly’s, for a quick drink just us two. We got to see Ted’s parents, and they hopped in the limo with us to grab a drink at Kelly’s. As we walked into the bar, Ted had surprised me again and my parents, his parents, and several of our closest friends were at the bar to celebrate with us. We sang karaoke all night, and it was amazing. We can’t wait to celebrate with all of those people and more at our wedding.