Daniel and I met for the first time on a June night outside of a bar on 14th Street in Washington, DC. After nervous greetings, we cozied up to the bar and immediately hit it off. We talked for hours and eventually made our way to a small restaurant nearby. We stayed until we were the only customers left and as the waiter closed up, placing all the chairs around us on the tables, we had our first kiss. Afterwards, not wanting the night to end, we went to my rooftop and sipped on champagne right out of the bottle. Before leaving, Daniel asked me on a second date and the rest is history!

On our second date, we went on a short hike together with Daniel’s dog Zoey. Mid-hike we found a small beachy area and impulsively jumped in the water in our hiking clothes. Afterwards, as we dried out, we ate sandwiches and learned more about each other. 5 years later, we took this same hike and when we got to that same little beach Daniel proposed. As soon as he got on one knee I just started yelling “yes!” and totally ruined his speech! He had snuck beers in his backpack, and we shared a toast while we called all of our family.