How We Met
Our story started roughly 12 years ago when we both started working part time at our local Water Utility. We started working together and building a friendship back then but never really put the pieces together that this could be more than a friendship until January 2016.
We had kept in touch over the years just checking in here and there about what was going on in our lives but never was anything more than a friendship. That all changed in January of this year when Alex had sent me a video of his dog in the front seat, and anyone that knows me knows that dogs are one of the quickest ways to my heart. Once he sent that video I immediately started asking questions about the dog which lead the conversation into other things about where we both were at in life and what not. We went on our first date shortly after that and I think we both realized early on that this was it, we had finally found the one we were supposed to spend our life with.
how they asked
The proposal took place on a Saturday in September. Alex had asked me earlier in the week asking if we could go on a hike over the weekend with our two dogs. I didn’t really think anything of it because we did that sort of thing a lot, and it was nothing out of our norm.
Leading up to the weekend things were normal and Alex wasn’t at all anxious, which I always told him I thought he would be because of how he was leading up to saying “I love you”, but never once did I get the slightest hint that he was going to ask me to be his wife that weekend.
That Saturday morning was like any other, we had our morning coffee and breakfast together with no signs that in a few short hours my life was going to change forever. We were talking about where we wanted to hike and whether or not I was going to take my dog along with us because she has a bad leg and I didn’t want to push her too hard on the hike. I kept telling Alex I should leave her back because I was worried about her, but he was very insistent that she came along with us. At this point I just assumed he wanted her along just so she would get out of the house and run a little so I geared her up and away we went.
We drove to a segment of the Ice Age Trail in Erin, WI where we had taken our first hike together. This spot is one of our favorite places to hike because of the beautiful scenery surrounding the trails. We get both of the dogs out and start the hike at about 11am, we only hike for about 20- 30 minutes and Alex said it was time to turn around. I was a little shocked because of how short we were walking, but we turned around anyways and headed back to the start of the trail. Along the way there is a bench at the top of a little hill to stop and take a look at the scenery so we stop and gave the dogs water and let them relax a little. We had stopped at the bench 7 months prior and taken our first picture together so I wanted to take another one now.
While we were sitting on the bench Alex said he had a note he had written for me so he was going to read it. I thought it was a little weird that he had brought a note with him on our hike but again, didn’t think the note would lead to the proposal. He starts reading it and gets about 3/4 of the way through it when he says “I knew fairly soon I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life and I can’t imagine my life without you” it is right then that a rush of emotion shot through me, I realized what was about to happen and before I knew it he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. It was then I realized why he wanted me to bring my dog so much.
After all the commotion we took the same picture we took 7 months earlier, but this time we were no longer boyfriend and girlfriend we were soon to be husband and wife. In May I had taken a trip to Sedona, AZ with two of my best friends, there they got me a bottle of wine that I brought back home to Wisconsin and told Alex that we would save it for the day we got engaged. Once we were done taking that picture on the bench he pulled out that bottle of wine (which he remembered to chill that morning) and opened it so we could enjoy it together. He remembered every little thing that I ever wanted to do the day we got engaged and made sure to make my dog a huge part of the day, it was one for the books.
The rest of that day was a blur of celebrating and tears as we spent time with family, friends, and our furbabies.
I couldn’t have planned a better engagement plan than the one he did. It was truly one of the very best days of my life and now we are starting our happily ever after.
