How We Met
Alex and I met on the Shark Tank dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel. I had just graduated from college, started a new job, and was going through all kinds of life changes. I was the healthiest I had ever been and felt ready to put myself out there in the Dallas dating world. We both “swiped right” on each other, and Alex messaged me. We began to bond over Netflix documentaries because they’re obviously the best. We were messaging off and on for about a week, and I could feel myself really starting to like him. I even canceled a date with another guy I met on the app because it just felt wrong to be with anyone else. The way the app works is that you have 7 days to exchange phone numbers, or the conversation expires. The only way to open the messages back up is to use “coffee beans” that you earn when you first log onto the app. To my horror, I woke up one morning to find that it was too late, and our message conversation was closed. I was freaking out! I thankfully had enough coffee beans, so I spent them, and reopened the conversation. Alex messaged me and thanked me for opening it back up, and asked me out on a date. We finally exchanged numbers and started texting. We planned a date and I had to cancel the last minute, which was rough! Then he was traveling for work, so we had to wait until the next weekend. We were still talking every day, the anticipation of finally seeing each other growing every single day. We finally had our date at Cane Rosso, and I knew immediately I was so into this man. After dinner, we walked around and the downtown plaza, and ended up standing in the parking lot talking for an extra 45 minutes. I could tell there was something special at him, and I even called a friend afterwards to tell them that exact thing. This was the start of an amazing journey!
How They Asked
Alex and I had been discussing engagement for a while. About 5 months before he popped the question, we did 8 weeks of premarital counseling, and that sealed the deal. We knew we wanted to marry one another. Fast forward to December, and Alex began his planning. Alex knows I love Christmas time- especially Christmas lights. There’s one area in Addison, Texas called the Vitruvian Lights, where all the trees are wrapped in beautiful neon colors, and they reflect off a pond in the area. It’s beautiful! I mentioned to Alex we should go, so we made plans to do so. He immediately knew this was where he would propose. Over the next couple of weeks, Alex would go to see the lights several times before the big proposal day. He met up with my best friend, Lauren, and our friend Anna, who would end up taking the pictures.
Lauren had me convinced she wasn’t in on the proposal at all. She told me several times that Alex needed to make sure he included her in the planning process- So I figured he hadn’t planned anything. The three of them ended up planning the entire proposal throughout the month of December, and I had no idea. On December 21st, Lauren and I got our nails done and we talked all about the various ways I thought Alex might ask. I was telling her how a couple of nights before, I actually had a dream Alex proposed. I was so ready for my real-life proposal to happen! Later that day, Alex came to pick me up for dinner. He kept messing with his pockets, but I figured he just had cold hands or something. We ate dinner at Neighborhood Services in Addison, and we were about to leave for the park. Alex excused himself for a second, which I later found out he did this so he could text Lauren we were on our way.
He drove us to the park, and we started walking around checking out the beautiful lights. We made our way across a bridge to another section, and he asked if I wanted to go down by the water. He and Lauren knew EXACTLY where he needed to stand for the best pictures (a few steps to the right of the sprinkler head). I agreed and he turned to me and starting saying sweet things. He told me that I was his Fifi (inside joke for fiance), and I replied not yet! That’s when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was in shock and so excited, immediately started crying, and said yes! Then a couple of minutes later, Lauren popped out to surprise me! Turns out she had been tucked away behind a tree and in the best disguise ever (see below!!). I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have a man that loves me endlessly, and worked so hard for so long on the most perfect proposal.
