How We Met
Greg and I met at a bar in Chicago called Kirkwood’s. I was out for dinner with my girlfriend. We had decided to do a girls night with dinner in the city, followed by drinks at Kirkwood’s. When we got to the bar, I couldn’t help but notice a guy wearing a Purdue jacket. Being that Kirkwood’s is an Indiana University bar (where Greg and I both went to school) and Purdue is our rival school, I had to say something. I went up to the guy and jokingly heckled him about being in an IU bar wearing a Purdue shirt. We laughed it off and my friend and I grabbed a table not too far away. Seconds later, the guy I had talked to and all of his friends were at our sides talking to us. Greg and I instantly connected and ended up talking all night. All I remember is our eyes locked all night. As my friend and I left the bar, Greg asked for my number. I gave it to him and the rest is history.
How They Asked
Greg and I planned a weekend trip with Greg’s friend Rob (the guy I heckled at the bar when we first met) and his girlfriend Eve to visit their friend Brad who lives in Boulder, Colorado. We arrived Friday and the proposal happened on Saturday. Friday night we had been out late and had a few drinks with dinner. When we got back to our Airbnb, we hung out for a while with the rest of the group. It was getting late and Greg said: “We should go to bed since we have an 8 am hike tomorrow.” To which I responded, “Who agreed to that?!” I am typically a morning person and Greg is the one who sleeps in. Being that we were on vacation, I was ready to not set an alarm and sleep in. Little did I know what he had planned up his sleeve!
That morning, Greg hopped out of bed around 6:30 AM. No alarm, ready to start the day. He jumped in the shower and came in to tell me he was going out to get us coffee and breakfast before our hike. I reluctantly got out bed and started layering on my hiking clothes.
Once the guys came back, we ate breakfast and were ready to drive up the mountain to start our hike on Flagstaff Mountain. When we arrived at the starting point of our hike, it was snowing, kind of gloomy but somehow still so beautiful. Our hike was about 45 minutes to the top. I stayed ahead of the group for a lot of the time, having no clue what to expect when we got to the top.
When we reached the top of the mountain, there was a 360 view. It was absolutely breathtaking. Greg’s friend Brad told me to get up on this rock because he said that’s where the best view was. So, I climbed the rock to see the view and Greg followed. Eve hopped on the rock next to me, phone in hand ready to take pictures. I, of course, was taking pictures of the gorgeous view when Greg said: “Hey look at those houses over there.” I was confused as to why of all things to look at he pointed out houses but I agreed to look in the direction he pointed to see these houses…When I turned around to look at Greg he was on one knee, ring box in hand. I was so surprised that I had to turn away from him because I didn’t think it was real.
When I turned around again to Greg, he had opened the ring box and asked me to marry him. Between all the times I said “OMG” and “Are you serious?!”, I threw in a yes somewhere in there.
Then we popped champagne on the top of the mountain to celebrate!
