How We Met
Chris was a zookeeper and I was the zoo intern. When we met we immediately had a flirtationship. We always joked around and I least tried to spend most of the day with him. After applying and getting accepted to veterinary schools we started getting closer. Over time I began to realize I had feelings for this guy. Finally, after a few weeks, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I happily obliged!
How They Asked
Christopher moved to Kansas to be with me in veterinary school. We began living together during my second year and it’s been a dream ever since. Prior to him moving, however, we weren’t sure if we would continue our relationship long distance! So I decided to push all the holidays we would miss together in one summer. One of our favorites was June Christmas, and that’s the tradition that stuck! Every June 25th we decorate and pretend it’s Christmas, complete with Christmas movies, presents, and food!
This specific June Christmas however we outdid ourselves. I woke him up with a normal June Christmas surprises: decorations, presents, coffee, etc. but I had decided early on I was going to propose to him that day. I took a half-day off of clinics and my best friend and I began to set up the surprise…when Christopher walked in in the middle of it!!! He looked at me and said, “what are you doing here!?” And I said, “what are YOU doing here?!” My best friend mediated the conflict by giving us each 30 minutes to set up our respective “just June Christmas, nothing crazy” surprises.
After an hour Christopher let me show him my surprise first. I took him on a tour through our relationship; each room in our apartment was a pivotal point in our relationship- moving to Kansas, going to the Galapagos, getting our second dog, etc. at the end of it, I presented him with a white doctoral coat that said “Chris Sutter” and has a ring in the pocket. (This was a callback to my white coat ceremony where I thought he was going to propose to me and he didn’t… so being petty as I am I wanted to re-do the white coat ceremony the RIGHT way)I got on one knee and proposed. Of course, he said yes!
AND THEN! He goes “well my June Christmas surprise is nothing special” and he presented me with a small pack of notecards titled “My Top Ten Favorite Memories of Alexis” and had me read from #10 down. When I got to #1 it said “Look under Jenny’s bed” and when I did there was a notecard that said, “That time I proposed and you said yes.” I turned around and there he was on one knee!
So yes, we proposed, to each other, on the same day, independent of each other. Soulmates much?
