How We Met
We met as many people do in this day in age – a dating app (Hinge to be specific). We came across each other at the very tail end of May 2019. After matching with each other, the conversation flowed so easily which to both of us was a great sign. I had just before that gone through a pretty brutal rejection from a guy I had an unofficial thing with and redownloaded the app out of spite thinking, “Well if he can move on just like that so can I!” So I was fairly cynical about the whole thing and definitely had my guard up but Avery made me feel so comfortable so fast and we just had so much in common. He has told me that he was about to give up on the app but thankfully he didn’t :)
I was talking to a couple of other guys at the time. My brother was in from out of town with his fiancée and she asked me who I would pick if I had to choose just one and without hesitation, I said, Avery. After talking to each other pretty much all day, that night he messaged me and asked me out and three days later we went out on our first date! It started with just going for a walk at Stone Arch bridge in Minneapolis while talking and getting to know each other and we ended up going to get food and spending several hours together that evening. Right from that first date, I could just tell that this was something so special and there was no one else I would rather be with. We had our second date a couple of days later and spent a good chunk of the day together and that day only solidified the feelings we had for each other.
Six days after our first date, on June 9th, we had our third date and cooked dinner together. As we were working on the meal I just looked at him and thought, “Wow I just love this man and I could totally see a life with him” but I thought it was too quick to say that. Right after I had that thought as if he could read my mind, he said, “I don’t even care if we’ve only known each other a week, I freaking love you.” And of course, I said I love you back. That was such a special night for us. Even though it was quick we both felt like it was very right and like things were really falling into place. We decided that night to make things official and have been inseparable ever since.
Not even two weeks into dating we were sitting on the porch talking. He had just met my family for the first time that day and it went so well. Then we had a bonfire with his family and spent some quality time with them too and I was just so happy that it all went so smoothly. Avery said, “Can I say something crazy? I think you’re the girl I’m gonna marry.” And I replied, “Well can I say something crazy too? I know that you’re the guy I’m going to marry.”
How They Asked
It was the day after Christmas so Avery said that since the lights should still be up we would go see the Christmas lights in a couple of different cities and then grab dinner. In order to make sure the timing all worked out smoothly he canceled some plans we were supposed to have that afternoon, which is unusual for him but I didn’t really think anything of it. He picked me up and said we would start by seeing the lights in Stillwater.
He had accidentally let it slip a while back that he had the ring and around this time he and some of my friends and family members were being a little sneaky and secretive. But he had made a comment the day before that led me to believe that he was going to wait until the new year. I was beginning to get a little fed up with the secrets and becoming impatient not knowing when it could happen, so on the car ride to Stillwater I was doing a lot of speculating and kind of whining about it. Little did I know what was about to happen!
When we got there we were on the edge of the downtown area and Avery said we should take the staircase that was there up to a lookout point to really get a good view of the lights. When we got to the top he handed me a letter that he had written to me, which was part of a series that he was writing to me about 1 Corinthians 13, a Bible passage about love, in which he would talk about the different verses and how he planned to live those things out in our relationship. I started to read it but before I could get to the end, he said there were some people coming up the stairs so I didn’t have time to finish reading it which threw me off a little bit again I didn’t think much of it.
He started saying all of these sentimental things and before I knew it he was saying, “No reason for us to wait, right?” And he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I immediately started crying and could hardly even get out the word “yes” even though it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. He truly thought of everything and even had a ring box with a light in it since this was happening at night. After admiring and putting on the ring and just taking in the moment, Avery told me that he had a microphone on him and there was a camera set up in the distance that had been recording the whole thing. We had a few pictures taken and then went off to dinner to celebrate with some family and close friends. The proposal was such a beautiful surprise and that was a night that I’ll never forget.
