We first met on Fourth of July weekend when a mutual friend from church, Kelsey, was house sitting and invited some friends over to hang out in the pool. The house was absolutely beautiful with a great back patio, deck, and a pool. Margaret immediately caught my eye and because of this, I didn't talk to her much, even though there were only eight people there. After several hours in the sun, I decided to order pizza for the group. The obvious best candidates were Pizza Hut and Domino's, but Margaret said her favorite was Papa John's. So, that's when I made my first move. I ordered Papa John's. I then spent the next several months building up the courage to call Margaret and ask her out...

I knew that Margaret's criteria for the proposal was that it's simple and it's just the two of us. My criteria was that it's special. With the help of countless family and friends, a plan began to unfold. I reached out to Kelsey, who connected me with the owner of the house where Margaret and I first met over a year ago; he agreed to let me use the house - super nice guy. Later on, Kelsey texted Margaret, said she was house sitting again the weekend of 8.26.23, and invited her to another small pool party that day. Margaret then (unknowingly) invited me to her own proposal! A few of our friends went to the house that morning, set up the flowers, laid out rose petals leading up to it, and even paid the construction workers next door $20 each to stop jack hammering for a couple hours. The family that lived in the house went out for a long lunch. Margaret spent a few hours making brownies, blondies, and even mocktails for a pregnant friend who was (allegedly) also coming. We show up to the house each carrying multiple bags of food, drinks, towels, sun screen, and everything else you need for a full pool party. But one of my bags also had a ring in it. As soon as we walked in the back yard and she saw the flowers (and zero other people), Margaret knew. I knelt down, said a few words, and asked the most special question to the most special person in our most special place. And she said yes. (Then when we got back to my house, we had a heart-shaped Papa John's pizza waiting for us).