How We Met
Michael and I met during our first year of dental school in Glendale, Arizona. I had moved to Arizona from Florida and he had moved from Utah. We became good friends a couple months into the school year. We began running together on the weekends training for a Tough Mudder race. We would run on the side of a mountain for endurance training and Michael would always run on in the outside closest to the edge. He was protective and made me feel safe. I fell for him hard during these runs. I wanted to start a relationship but he was cautious. He is very smart, stable and levelheaded. He weighed the benefits and risks of dating a classmate for a very long time (our program is 4 years long).
I wanted to be with him regardless of the consequences. After a couple of weeks of his stubbornness, he couldn’t think of another reason why we weren’t perfect together. It was the best decision we ever made. We have now been together for over 2 and a half years and are finishing up our fourth and final year of dental school. He proposed to me on September 17th, 2016 and our wedding is set for July 14th, 2017 after our graduation.
how they asked
I would like to preface this story by saying that I have an identical twin sister, Kate. She is my best friend. We are very close and have done everything together since birth. We were finally both in serious relationships at the same time and had dreamed of the idea of doing a double wedding. When she got engaged in August, I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to plan her wedding but I also hoped we could plan one together. About a month later, all my dreams came true.
After my sister’s engagement, Michael and I focused on studying for our dental licensing exams which we take at the end of October. Getting engaged was the farthest thing from my mind because of these big exams. Michael had told me we needed to focus on getting through this part of our schooling before we talked about getting engaged. Unbeknownst to me, he’d been planning the engagement for weeks with Kate’s help. He went ring shopping and asked my dad for permission to marry me, all while I was distracted by studying.
This leads me to the good stuff! Michael had organized a group of my friends and I to do an “Escape Room”. For those who are not familiar with them, you are locked in a room and have to solve puzzles and find clues to escape before 60 minutes is up. We had done one before and are completely hooked! The theme of our room was “Farewell” and our grandfather had just passed away and left us a family heirloom in his apartment. We had one hour to find it before it was bulldozed down. Michael had arranged earlier in the week to make my engagement ring the family heirloom that we had to find. Normally it was a watch so it was easy to make the trade. The management had given him all the answers to the puzzles so that he’d be able to propose before the 60 minutes ran out.
We arrived at Phoenix Escape Room early to go over the rules. Everyone acted very normal and I was completely oblivious to anything. I was in game solving mode! Once we got started, I was surprised at how quickly we were solving the clues and making it through the puzzles. (Now I know we technically cheated with Michael’s answers…) With 20 minutes left to spare, we had one padlock to open which was locked to a dresser. We had just solved the combination and I had been given the task of opening it. I sat down and fiddled with the lock for what seemed like forever until it popped open.
Everyone was excited and cheering as I took off the padlock and opened the drawer. Inside was a small treasure chest. Everyone soon asked me, “What’s the heirloom??” I opened the treasure chest and there was another small box inside. I quickly responded, “It looks like a ring box!” I was still completely clueless! I then opened it and saw my dream engagement ring sparkling back at me. I looked at Michael with complete shock and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked around and everyone had their phones out recording the moment. I started crying immediately and Michael got down on one knee. He asked me the question I had been dying to hear…
Soon after, balloons were around me and all my friends were hugging us. I couldn’t believe how well they’d kept the secret! My sister and her fiancé had brought champagne to celebrate. To end this fairy tale, my twin sister and I get to have the wedding of our dreams.
The double wedding is happening this summer. We are marrying two amazing men who get along like brothers. We are extremely lucky and I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.
