They met over drinks at Copperwood Tavern in Shirlington, VA. Brittany was running late and John thought he was being stood up. She showed up sweaty and flustered from her jog down the street. He didn't stop smiling and she couldn't stop admiring the way his eyes lit up and crinkled at the edges when he did. This went on the entire 2-3 hours they spent getting to know each other.

On their second date, they built a pillow fort in John's living room complete with TV, air mattress, and twinkle lights. This was the night they realized they had found the person that they would rather stay in with than be out anywhere with anyone else.

The planned proposal: John proposes on their romantic trip to Jamaica prior to his deployment. The actual proposal: The ring didn't arrive in time. John rushed to the mailbox as soon as they returned to his apartment after the trip and hid the ring. He and his friends arranged a fake trip to the Kennedy Center holiday show on December 22nd. First, they stopped at the Lincoln Memorial for group pictures. When Brittany reached her pose position she turned to see John on one knee with the ring. Neither can remember what John said but they do remember Brittany saying “Yes, of course!”