Wayne was a second semester 1L student at Albany Law School in 2016 where Kate was also living at the time. One Thursday night in January, Kate and her best friend Lauren went out to Lionheart Pub for karaoke night. They were meeting up with a mutual friend who was also attending Albany Law School at that time. He brought along his classmate and friend who happened to be Wayne. As the night went on and the drinks were flowing, Kate was dying to do karaoke. She asked Wayne, who she had just met, if he wanted to sing Rich Girl by Hall & Oates with her. He enthusiastically said yes and they sang their hearts out. The two began talking and they just clicked. They discovered that they shared weird coincidences - both of their dads were engineers and their moms were lawyers...Wayne's birthday was the day after Kate's brother's and Kate's birthday was the day before Wayne's sister. Eventually, the night ended with a kiss and they both knew that they wanted to see each other again. They met back up to see each other just days later, had their official first date, and the rest is history.

On May 15th, Wayne and Kate took a trip down the shore with their puppy Ruby for a weekend of relaxation. Wayne was very giggly and smiling all throughout the car ride and Kate began wondering if he was going to propose. Later that afternoon, she had a feeling that she was wrong and that Wayne wasn't going to propose that weekend. The two went to dinner and decided to walk home. When they were close to their street, Wayne asked Kate if she wanted to go for a walk on the beach. She agreed and they walked hand in hand down the beach where it was nearly empty and peaceful. Wayne took Kate's hands and dropped down on one knee and asked her if she would marry him. Kate accepted through MANY happy tears. Out of the corner of Kate's eye she saw a photographer snapping photos of the moment. Wayne had hired a photographer to pose as a beach-goer and capture the proposal on camera. The surprises didn't end there though! Kate was shocked to see her closest friends and family waiting for them back at their house for a surprise party that Wayne had planned. The night was filled with love, joy, happy tears, and so much excitement.