Our journey from becoming friends to dating is a long and winding one! We first met early into sophomore year in college through mutual friends and continued getting to know each other as friends over the course of the semester. We were both surprised by how natural and comfortable it always felt when we were together, and how it felt like we could talk for hours about anything in the world. Throughout college we were always very close and both felt a special connection with the other person, but did not get around to expressing these feelings until graduation! After that, it became very clear to both of us that we should give this a shot, and despite 3 years of long distance filled with seemingly endless flights from Chicago to Houston and back, the winding journey was worth it.

We were in East Hampton for a short weekend trip, and had gone out to Montauk on Friday for a nice dinner. Once there Andrew suggested a trip to see the Montauk lighthouse, since it had one of our favorite views. Colleen knew something fishy was afoot when Andrew chose a mysterious path we had never taken before into the woods. We emerged on the beach, where a suspicious photographer was taking pictures of the sunset. After a nervous little walk, Andrew proposed on the rocks in front of the lighthouse. The even bigger surprise for Colleen was both families hiding out in a café nearby, who joined us in celebrating that whole weekend.