Summer of 2021.... We met at work, quickly becoming fast office buddies—the kind who exchanged knowing glances during long meetings and found reasons to linger in the parking lot a little longer just to keep talking.

By the summer of 2022, we both knew there was something more between us. We just hadn’t said it out loud—until one of us finally did. That someone was Aaron. He suggested a happy hour at a cozy bar in Oakley called The Establishment. Under the soft glow of string lights, what was meant to be a casual drink turned into five hours of effortless conversation. Time slipped away, but neither of us wanted the night to end. And from that day on, we knew we never wanted to spend another day without each other.

A wonderful year of adventures later, we decided to celebrate our first anniversary with a romantic getaway to Gatlinburg, TN. True to our adventurous spirit, we set out to explore the mountains—only to discover that a bear had broken into our car and eaten all our snacks. We laughed it off and carried on. Our destination was a breathtaking waterfall, but just before we arrived, Aaron had one more surprise planned. Right there, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.

And the best part? I said yes.

A&K