Katie and Cassandra met at at Mozart's Coffee on the deck overlooking the Colorado River on February 21st, 2017. They had been planning to meet up for almost a month before then, but busy schedules got in the way. They were both feeling nervous, a little awkward, and very chilly. Because of Katie’s work schedule and Cassandra’s grad school schedule, their first few dates were short and sweet, which left little time to get to know each other. It wasn’t until their fifth date that they really connected, during dinner at Conscious Cravings. The nerves were finally wearing off a bit, and they stayed so late talking that an employee had to ask them to leave the park when it was closing. Not only was Cassandra willing to try a vegan food truck for Katie, but when it got cold in the evening, Cassandra pulled a blanket out of her car and wrapped up Katie like a human burrito. It was a perfect match.

Cassandra proposed at a special gazebo in Buda, TX on September 8th, 2018. She told Katie that she had family coming into town and that she wanted to get dressed up for a night out in Austin with them. As Katie is a bit nosy and Cassandra is not an expert liar, Katie had a pretty good idea of what was coming. While driving into Buda to pick up Cassandra’s “visiting cousin", Cassandra asked Katie to close her eyes as they drove through downtown. They soon parked the car by the old library and walked over to the gazebo. It was covered in twinkle lights and candles that their friends had set up earlier that day. Cassandra got down on one knee and proposed. With teary eyes, Katie exclaimed, “Yes!” and the rest is history. Several months prior to the proposal, after a night of Mexican food and margaritas, Katie and Cassandra took a stroll through downtown Buda and walked over to the gazebo right off Main Street. Katie started to play some music circa 2003 and took Cassandra’s hands to dance around the gazebo (quite tipsily, I might add). While a beautifully cheesy Hilary Duff song played, Katie stopped dancing, pulled Cassandra into an embrace, and asked, “Will you marry me?” The gazebo was a special place for the pair ever since.

Katie actually proposed to Cassandra four months after Cassandra originally proposed. Katie decorated the living room with lots of candles and fresh flowers. She created handwritten notes with different things she loves about Cassandra and set them up in stations around the apartment. After Cassandra read through all the cards, Katie asked Cassandra to marry her back. Cassandra and Katie decided not to have engagement rings, so Cassandra proposed with a necklace engraved with the date on the back. The gazebo where the proposal took place is directly across the street from The Carrington.