We can't wait to celebrate with you!

6th grade typing class, Lily first met Andrew; long hair, weathered Blink 182 zip up hoodie and a kid of few words. Even then, there was something about him that was enticing. We spent the next few years in middle school being friendly acquaintances. Fast forward to senior year. We were both on the yearbook team and sat next to each other. We spent most every day getting to know each other more and more and a friendship began. I, Lily, remember missing him on days when he was out from school. I recall telling my mom all the things we would talk about or the funny things he would say to the point where she asked if I had a crush on him. Though I was dating one of his friends at the time, I vividly remember saying, "if I wasn't dating him, I would be with Andrew." That, however, did not happen. We graduated high school, went to different colleges and lost contact. With Andrew being in Chicago at UIC becoming a CPA and Lily in Wisconsin at Carthage College, we were both out of sight out of mind. Cut to Lily moving back to Illinois, living at home and working downtown Chicago. Our love lives hadn't been too fortunate so we resorted to technology. Enter Bumble, the dating app... One day, Lily was scrolling through prospective men to go on a date with. Randomly pops up a name that I hadn't thought about in 5 years; Andrew. After a minor panic attack, I had to swipe no. There was no way this guy would want to meet up! We were friends in high school and that was that, or so I thought... Once I swiped no, the odds of us connecting again were slim to none. A few weeks later, swiping through the app to pass some time, Andrew pops up again. Having the same mini panic attack, I immediately text my mom and sister, Mattie. They scold me for initially saying no and firmly suggest I say yes this time around. Assuming nothing would come of it, I swiped 'yes'. We met in person about a month later and the rest is history.

We had been living together for about 3 years and talked about marriage frequently. More so Lily nagging on when the proposal would happen... After what felt like eternity asking and getting an 'it'll happen soon' response, I gave up and left it alone. April 4, 2021. Easter Sunday. Celebrating with Lily's family. Andrew came over later in the morning after seeing his family. We were all finishing up dying eggs and I was making cupcakes with my niece, not a care in the world. My oldest sister, Chloe, 9 months pregnant, was starting to get antsy and insisted we start our egg hunt outside. Looking back, I realized that really everyone was a bit on edge, and for good reason! We complete our hunt and begin wrangling everyone together to take family pictures in our nice Easter get ups. Andrew and I pose together while Mattie takes a photo with her Polaroid camera. I noticed Andrew was shaking and quiet; most likely because he doesn't like taking pictures, nothing out of the ordinary. After about a minute, Chloe lets us know that the picture is developed so I go to look. The image I see is not the same as the one what we had just posed for. Instead it was picture of Andrew, holding a sign saying, "Marry Me?". It took about half a second to realize what was going on. Picture in hand, I yell out "WHAT THE F%?@, turn around to see Andrew on one knee, presenting me with my dream ring. It was the easiest decision of my life.