the evening of october 14, 2017 began no different than so many other saturday nights in federal hill. mel and her friends were getting dressed up, dancing to music and swapping the work gossip of the week, while less than five miles away Luke and his were watching baseball's championship series games and sharing some drinks. when it was time to "go-out", both groups were heading for wayward smokehouse on south charles street. the girls danced and laughed, but the boys sat at a table and continued to watch the game. melanie and her friends started making their way across the bar, when she saw luke sitting at his table. while it is still highly contested of who saw who first, they could not stop looking at one another the rest of the night. the more their eyes met, the more luke wondered what could be so interesting behind him as he was sure such a beautiful girl could not be looking his way. melanie, on the other hand, was wondering when the cute boy in the corner would work up the courage to talk to her. enough was enough and mel began to strategically position her group near luke's table. with his confidence full (and his bud light empty) luke boldly told mel that "i am going to regret it if i don't ask your name". "hi i'm melanie" she said "and you look miserable!" they spent the rest of the evening talking, dancing and ordering grapefruit vodkas. eventually, mel decided it was time to go but allowed luke to walk her home. as they held hands in the chilly morning hours of october 15th, luke was not miserable anymore. a goodnight night kiss and a date at blue agave two weeks later, and they have been inseparable ever since.

a little less than a year later, mel and luke were sure that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. the tough conversations that everyone warned about felt natural. in times of trouble, they ran toward one another and not away. they were truly each other’s best friends and they could not imagine life without the other. as their two-year anniversary approached, luke knew it was the right time to pop the question. after an extensive search, he found the perfect diamond and had a setting custom cast. a one of a kind ring for a one of a kind girl. the last item on the list was to ask her father for her hand. luke nervously called mr. vielhaber and asked him to meet for dinner. when the night of the dinner finally came, both mr. and mrs. vielhaber graciously agreed to trust luke with their daughter and offered to help in the plan any way they could. after getting permission, the real planning of how to perfectly ask the question began. october the 26th, mel and luke had planned at “stay-cation” at the four seasons in harbor east. a couple’s massage, dinner at tagliata and a nightcap at the bygone. it was a perfect weekend and luke knew the proposal had to happen then. the morning of the 27th, luke convinced mel to head to fells point for what she thought was a brunch at bond street social. as they dashed to the restaurant in the pouring rain, luke suddenly redirected them to some cover near one of the piers. as Luke began to explain the significance of the place they were standing, he told melanie that she was the love of his life and she had made him a better man than he ever could have imagined. he pulled out a ring, got down and one knee and asked melanie to make him the happiest man in the world. when they finally got to bond street, they were greeted by friends and family eagerly waiting to celebrate the newly engaged couple. the clouds broke and the sun came out to make for a perfect celebration. it was truly a fairy-tale day!