How We Met
Almost three years ago, we actually matched with one another on Tinder. It’s nothing super special but I always secretly wanted to date someone from VMI (where Austin went to college), plus he was cute and he had pictures of him working at his parents’ kennel on his profile, so I swiped right. We went out to a local restaurant a few days later and when I went into work the next day, I told one of my coworkers, “I’m gonna marry that boy one day.”
How They Asked
Austin grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, so when we decided to spend the week of Christmas with his parents, I was super excited (albeit a little bit sad to be spending Christmas away from my parents). We only had time to go into the city on one day when there was nice weather, too, so on Friday morning, we got dressed, and I curled my hair as he packed up his backpack, and we headed off to the closest Metra station to take a train into the city. We started the morning on the train to Union Station in Chicago, when Austin said, “We have one more Christmas present to pick up downtown today.” Of course, at that point, I had a hunch. We started our day at Argo Tea, our favorite coffee and tea shop in the city, and then made our way to the Bean, next to the Art Institute. Austin asked me what my favorite painting in the museum was, and I replied with, “the Degas paintings, you should know that by now!” We walked around the Bean for a few minutes before getting in the ticket line to the Art Institute. We went straight to the Impressionists’ Hall, as usual, and spent nearly an hour and a half in that wing alone before wandering to Modern American Art, where the Georgia O’Keeffe paintings hung.
While we were walking, I went to hug Austin from behind, when he suddenly got very stern and nervous. At that point, I knew he had the ring in his pocket and that he was going to propose that day! We spent the rest of our time in the art museum giggling at each other.
When we left the art museum, we went back to the Bean, which had become totally packed with people! We then walked back to the Harris Theater, where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays outdoor concerts in the summer. We sat down on the steps, and he looked at me and said:
“Hannah Caley Bush, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I love you so much for everything you are.” He got down on his knee and asked me, “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
He then opened the ring box (upside down) and we both laughed again. He turned the ring box over and gave me the ring inside, and I slipped it onto my finger. We sat at the amphitheater laughing and hugging and kissing for a few minutes before leaving to find some lunch in the city (deep dish pizza, of course). And with it, two glasses of Prosecco for the engaged couple.
