"I wasn't looking for love... But God had different plans"

At that time in my life, I was focused on my career and my love for travel - I'd just gotten back from Cuba - when my dear friend Brittni approached my desk at work.

She told me she had a cousin whom she thought I had a lot in common with. He was a man of faith, kind, ambitious, from a good family, loved to travel and was all around a good person. She mentioned he was in town and asked if I'd join for a happy hour. I was skeptical, but I asked God for direction - and honestly,

who passes up a happy hour? I figured no harm done, at least I'd have my girls there to save me if needed.

We went to happy hour and I had a great time. The conversation between us was easy and I felt like I'd known him for years. Admittedly, I found him to be nerdy, but he had this calm grounded energy that made me feel safe and comfortable. By the end of happy hour, we found ourselves exchanging numbers.

Our First Date

On our first date, he made a point of coming when my father was around to introduce himself. Because we'd just met, I tried everything in my power to avoid that, but he was determined. Let's just say it went well and I ended up being impressed. We went to an Indian restaurant (Ronald claims he rented the entire place out just for us) and we've been growing ever since.

A few trips around the world (Trinidad and Tobago, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Jamaica), loads of laughs (if you know us, then you know we are FULL of jokes), tons of golf competitions with banter (thankfully I played in highschool because Ronald is AMAZING and we're both competitive) and plenty of love later - here we are today! It's been a beautiful journey ever since!

Now the proposal...

I'm an adventurous girl and I love the outdoors so I decided I was going to go glamping - a couple of steps above pure camping but still out in the woods - solo in Northern Michigan. Ronald was adamant about going with me and I knew something was up.

On the second morning of our arrival, Ronald suggested we go hiking. Now I'm not one to turn down hiking but I found it odd since that isn't usually his thing. I'd also had a dream the evening before - but Ronald didn't know that at the time. We reached a clearing and that's where he proposed! I don't even remember what he said - but of course my answer was yes!

"I was minding my own business when she walked into my life and I couldn't do anything about it."

We were introduced by my cousin Brittni, who swore up and down that this woman was perfect for me. So we agreed to meet at this spot called Inyo- an Asian restaurant with a solid happy hour (that part, I approved of).

Now, at this point, all I had to go on were a few Instagram pictures. One of them was her allegedly in Cuba, smoking a cigar which, I'll admit, was a huge red flag for me. My cousin insisted, "She was just on vacation!". So against my better judgment, I decided to give it a shot. But just in case, I brought another cousin along - my designated "get-me-out-of-here" guy, if things went sideways...everyone needs a guy like that!

Anyway, we met, we talked, and to my surprise, she was actually...pretty cool. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch, even though I was living in Chicago at the time. Then the pandemic hit, I moved back to Michigan, and somehow after a few years of long-distance, laughter, and me losing every argument (in "reality", not principle) we ended up here.

Now, about the proposal... Let's just say I pulled off the surprise of the century. We were headed on this trip I didn't even want to go on - some random getaway cabin in "The Thumb" of Michigan, surrounded by more "Make America Great Again" signs than I care to remember. She had threatened to go alone, but I knew she didn't know how to start a fire, let alone cook over an open one, so I tagged along (purely out of concern for her safety, of course).

Little did she know, I'd been ring shopping for months. And when the moment was right, I proposed - got the whole thing on video, drone footage and all. So yup...that's right...she never saw it coming. And if her story is different, just know that I wrote (and published) mine first. ;-)

Welp, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it."