I met Tony on a dating app in March of 2018. During our first date at The Chasseur, we quickly realized that we had a lot in common, like growing up in Carroll County, playing lacrosse, and loving to be adventurous. When our first date was over, Tony walked me to the front door of my apartment building, and without thinking, I grabbed his face, gave him a kiss, and left without another word. I came home and told my roommates, “I’m in love and we’re getting married!” Tony wasn’t quite sold yet, but I quickly grew on him, and two weeks later on March 18, 2018, he asked me to be his girlfriend.

Dates with Tony are usually…interesting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve gone backpacking, disc golfing, camping (without tents), fly-fishing, hiking, rock-climbing, tandem biking, and now we’ve been living on a 34-ft sailboat together for 3 years!

Throughout our time together, Tony and I have been each other’s dates to a lot of weddings. So one day, half-joking, I asked him how many bouquets I’d have to catch for him to propose. He shrugged and said, “half dozen.” Little did he know, I had already caught four bouquets (I’m a very competitive person). After catching my sister’s bouquet, number 5, I told him there was only one left. His response? “I said BAKER’S dozen.” This guy thinks he’s hilarious.

The next wedding we attended, they didn't do a bouquet toss, but I found the bouquet sitting on a table at the After Party. I looked at Tony, threw it into the air to myself so I could catch it, and I joked with him saying I had caught my number 6! He laughed, but apparently, he had been preparing for that all along.

The next day, December 3, 2022, Tony wanted to take Captain on a walk around the harbor. I told him my feet hurt from dancing all night at the wedding, but he convinced me to go with him. We were walking down the pier towards the Inner Harbor, and as we approached a beautiful area I said, “This would be a perfect spot for engagement photos.” Little did I know, that happened to be the exact spot Tony was planning on proposing (great minds think alike!), so he dropped down on one knee and popped the question. I was completely in shock and crying like a baby, but the next thing I know, I was wearing the most perfect ring I’ve ever seen. Then Tony said, “Say hi to Thomas!” and I saw our neighbor’s drone hovering over us as he captured pictures of this special moment.

We walked back home as fiancés, and I was happier than I’d ever been. That night, our neighbors invited us over to watch the Lighted Boat Parade, so we went over to their dock and watched all the decorated boats ride by. While that was happening, Tony snuck our parents and my sister onto the dock and surprised me with the best reunion ever! We started walking to what I thought was going to be a “family dinner,” but we took a turn into the boater’s lounge on our pier. I was very confused, but when I walked in, I saw tons of decorations, presents, food, and so many of my favorite people. Tony had pulled off yet another huge surprise, and again, I started crying tears of happiness. It was truly the best day of my life, and if our engagement day was that amazing, I can’t wait to see how our wedding day will be!