How We Met
July 4, 2015: Our first date was like something out of a movie.
After meeting online and talking for about a month, Nick told me about his plans to go watch the Fourth of July fireworks show in Nashville. I more or less invited myself along, & he was all for the idea. However, being an only child with a protective mom who was set to meet a strange man from the internet, she had her trepidations, as did I, although I was certain that Nick was completely genuine. The two of us decided it was safest if she drove with me to meet Nick in Clarksville before we split off for Nashville.
We all met up at Popeye’s, where we finally met in person for the first time. My mom liked him instantly, & I knew right then that he was a keeper for being so open to meeting my mom on the first date (HA!). After lunch, Nick & I said goodbye to my mom & began our drive to Nashville. We walked around the city, just talking & getting to know each other more, & discovered our disagreement on acceptable car colors. I still refuse to abide by anyone owning a neon orange vehicle (haha!).
After a few hours, we stumbled upon Puckett’s, a restaurant that uses & sells the product Nick makes at Allegro, his workplace. So naturally, we ended up eating dinner there. After another hour or two of walking, we decided to seat ourselves on the side of a grassy bank just off the street to get a good view of the fireworks. It had started raining at this point, & we didn’t have an umbrella, but I’ve always loved the rain, so I didn’t mind at all. At the time, Nick said he didn’t mind either, but would tell me much later that he did mind, but was so impressed at my willingness to take things as they come that he decided it wasn’t worth worrying about after all. So there we were, watching the fireworks in the rain with no umbrella or anything, his arm wrapped around my shoulders in an attempt to keep me warm & at least somewhat dry. Romantic, unique, & cinematic, albeit a bit inconvenient. To this day it’s still my favorite date we’ve ever been on.
How They Asked
October 2-4, 2018: After a little over 3 years of being together, we finally got engaged! The first week of October we made our way up to Chicago for a 3-day trip to see one of our favorite bands, BTS!
Our first day in Chicago, after we got settled into the amazing Publishing House Bed & Breakfast, we had dinner at Tanta, a Peruvian restaurant, which neither of us had tried. We then wrapped up the night by exploring Navy Pier, where we rode the Centennial Wheel, which, surprisingly, Nick suggested, even though he hates rides (ha!).
The second day, we spent all morning and afternoon at the Museum of Science & Industry, where we toured a captured U-Boat from World War II. After a delicious authentic Chinese dinner at Imperial Lamian, we made our way to the United Center for the concert!! We decided to splurge on floor seats because it’s our favorite band, and we didn’t know if we would have another opportunity to see them perform live. We had an amazing time, and it was also Nick’s first concert!
On our third and final day, we explored Millennium Park and the surrounding area before going home. On the ride back, Nick grabbed my hand and talked about how he wanted to have lots more trips together, and then asked me to marry him! It was a private, intimate moment after a wonderful trip, just the two of us in his truck. We love to ride in together.
