Our story, her perspective:

After being in Charlotte for a year and a half, I was feeling settled and had made a great group of friends. And it was one of those good friends that put into motion what was to come and to her, I owe it all.

Natalie, in her loving and Libra way, asked me one day if I was dating anyone and once I told her I wasn’t, she dropped a casual “Oh, I think you’d really like my brother-in-law”. I told her to give him my number and that maybe we could meet up the coming weekend. “Small detail, Scott lives in Denver”, she said.

Turns out though that he was planning to be in Charlotte in a few weeks so she coordinated a group outing. I met Natalie, her husband (Scott’s brother) Mark, our friends Laurence and Brad, and Scott at a local brewery. The brewery was hosting Drag Music Bingo that night so we grabbed our markers and played along, yelling across the table and over music while guessing obscure Disney song lyrics (not Scott’s strong suit).

We eventually had a few minutes to talk but it was fleeting and he was leaving for the airport the next day.

But he was back again a few weeks later and we had a chance to really talk and get to know each other, me hearing about his recent harrowing hiking adventures and him impressed with my moves on the dance floor at Lost & Found. We ended up spending the weekend together and when it was time for him to leave again, he suggested I visit him in Denver. Thinking it was just him being polite, I shrugged it off but a few days later, I decided to just go for it and book a flight.

The trip was a success (despite the one night in a tiny cabin in the middle of the woods with no running water) and we continued dating long distance, but eventually realized the long weekends and daily phone calls weren’t enough, so we made plans for me to move out west, packing up a U-Haul and driving cross country with Rawley in my lap and Scott behind the wheel the entire 24 hours.

Since then, we’ve explored Denver and beyond, taken trips to the mountains and the desert, got engaged in Baja California, Mexico, visited friends near and far, moved out of a studio and into a house, hosted backyard get-togethers and living room dance parties, and are incredibly excited to see what the rest of life has in store for us.

Our story, his perspective:

Our story started in August of 2022 while I was staying at Mark and Natalie’s (the matchmaker) house after a weekend golf trip. Natalie proposed a happy hour at one of the local breweries and indicated she had a “hot” friend that might come and join us. Soon after arriving at the brewery, Natalie indicated her friend was on her way. A couple minutes later, I saw a gorgeous woman getting out of her car in the parking lot and knew that it was Natalie’s friend. I was introduced to Rachel for the first time and as she sat down at the table I had butterflies in my stomach. After a few minutes of conversation, I could tell that Rachel was intelligent, driven, outgoing, funny and liked to have a good time. That night was a great one but eventually came to a close. I insisted on giving Rachel a hug, not knowing if, but hoping I would meet her again.

A month after our first encounter, I was back in Charlotte to celebrate my nephew Rory’s birthday (and in the back of my mind hoping to see Rachel again). On a night out, Rachel was persuaded to come meet up with us and after some liquid courage for myself, I was able to strike up conversation with Rachel throughout the night. That night ended with our first kiss at Lost & Found which instantly became one of my favorite establishments. We spent time together throughout that weekend and by the end of it I knew I wanted to keep spending time with Rachel, but we lived 1500 miles apart : (. I invited Rachel to come visit Denver not thinking she would accept, but being someone who is always down for an adventure, she accepted!

Rachel came to visit Denver and I wanted to show her all it had to offer. On the agenda was an Odesza concert, a night in the mountains spent in a tiny house with no running water or plumbing and a Broncos game. The weekend went by way too fast and at this time I knew I was falling for Rachel.

With many red-eye flights between Denver and Charlotte our relationship continued to grow deeper and after each weekend spent together, it became harder and harder to leave. I was in love! During the Christmas holiday that year, we decided that we wanted to live together and Rachel selflessly said that she would come to Denver. A couple months later, we packed all of Rachel’s belongings into a moving truck and made the cross-country drive to Denver…the best drive of my life.

We got Rachel and Rawley moved into my 700 sq ft apartment, where we all would learn everything we could know about one another. We experienced all that Colorado had to offer and my love for Rachel continued to grow by the day and I could not wait to ask her to be my wife.

On November 11, 2023, the time and setting were perfect for me to ask the love of my life to marry me and she said yes!