We're MARRIED!!!

On a cold Saturday night in February, Brian was at home getting ready for work the next day and April was with her friends, Erin and Jesse, for weekly game night. April was frustrated with dating apps and threw her phone on the table about to give up. Erin picked up the phone and said, "Let me look." She saw Brian's profile complete with him holding a German Shepard dog in a lake, him on a boat and several pics of his intoxicating smile. Erin swiped right and said hello. Minutes later Brian and April were chatting, but it was short lived cause Brian needed to be up early for work. Over the next few days and weeks, they chatted, left each other voice notes and finally made a plan to meet up, despite COVID. The date and time were set. March 4, 2021, at 7pm in Clifton Park at Peddlers. At the door, April said to Brian "Are you ready?" and the went in together, got a table in the back, ordered two beers and nachos and spent the next few hours talking. It was so easy, natural and comfortable just being in each other’s company. When the night was over, neither realized that their lives would change forever after this, but something felt different.

Nothing prepares you for the next steps. The very next day, April called Brian and told him she found a house, one that she had been searching for for over 5 years. It almost seemed like fate, but we all know you should never tempt fate. Cautiously optimistic, Brian supported April in putting in an offer and then the made plans for a second date. Monday March 8, 2021, at the Tipsy Moose in Latham. April was a wreck, nervous about the "best and final' offer she had put in the day before. Any minute she would hear news about the house, but it was all drowned our by the dinner and conversation with Brian in the busy tavern. A table next to them was a bunch of college guys celebrating a birthday. It's all a blur but at one point, Brian reached for her hand and asked to make it official and from that moment on they began a trip on the greatest rollercoaster ride together. (The next day April found out she got the house!) What came next was nothing more than amazing (and wildly crazy). The meeting of families, the vacation plannings, the ups and downs of becoming a homeowner. The first "I love you" standing in the kitchen in the exact moment of relief at seeing Brian's face walk through the door. More vacation planning, learning how to be a home owner, moving in together, making accomplishments together. There are so many things Brian and April embarked on together. Some days were amazing filled with love and happiness. Other days were a struggle and included tears and sadness. But together their love grew stronger, almost impenetrable.

In the movies and on TV, many see the extravagant wedding proposals that go above and beyond and set impossible standards for any couple. Brian and April knew they were meant for each other and knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Brian went to April's parents and asked their permission to marry April. The next step was to talk to Brian's parents. Things were set in motion in late September 2022 but at that point it was all just talk. Nothing set in stone. December rolled around and Brian and April decided that next year would be the year. On New Years' Eve they told Bruce and Carolyn, Brian's parents. Then Steve and Carmel, April's parents. Word began to travel and then it was just time to wait for the ring to be set and sized. A family heirloom, Brian's great-aunt's diamond and then a new setting. It was simple and one of the easiest decisions made. On a Monday night in January as the snow began to fall, which just so happened to be Bruce's birthday, Brian looked over at April, who was warming up under the heated blanket, pulled out the little black box and said, "Will you marry me?" <3 No decision has ever been easier and more exciting, and April exclaimed "Of course! Yes!" Their life is simple and happy, and Brian's proposal fit perfect in their love story.