We met sometime during our freshman year of high school at R L Turner in Carrollton, Texas. We had no classes together nor did we have many mutual friends but met when Ashleigh was in a musical production and Nicholas was in tech theatre. We both had a crush on each other and kissed once but never actually dated. After graduation in 2006, we went our separate ways and lived vastly different lives - Ashleigh stayed in DFW and Nicholas moved to Galveston. Flash forward 10 years filled with life for each of us, Nicholas was living back in DFW and we were both on Bumble. Now, Nicholas did NOT swipe right on Ashleigh but when she saw him on Bumble, she messaged him on FaceBook just to say hey and reconnect. Long story short, we met for drinks only a day or two later, went out on our first date shortly after that, and (after some convincing) ended up spending everyday with each other starting with the weekend of our 10 year high school reunion. Not long after that weekend, Nicholas asked Ashleigh to be his girlfriend and the rest is history!

Once I realized our shared love for the State Fair, I always knew where I would propose. Now the setup...I didn't know what Ashleigh liked in rings and I was pretty sure she didn't know what she liked either. So we went to look at styles and cuts so I could get an idea of what I should be looking for when I decided to pull the trigger. She settled on a ring and I took the driver’s seat from there. A few months before, I asked Casey, one of my best friends, if he would help me with the proposal by following us around the fair and taking pictures all day. Finally, a week before getting the ring, everything was planned out. The day of, let's just say I was a nervous wreck! I couldn't stop worrying that Ashleigh would go looking in a box under the bed she's never opened and find the ring. The car ride to Fair Park was the longest ride ever! Casey's girlfriend, Elena, was doing her part by keeping me calm and level headed while Casey was making sure we kept to some what of a schedule in order to make sure we made it to the Texas Star before closing. I had it planned out that I would do it at the top of the ferris wheel at night because the lights of the fair grounds are beautiful. We finally made it over to the line and it is 500 people long, because of course everyone wanted to see the lights at night on the ferris wheel. While we were in line, I was trying to plan how I was going to get the ring from my backpack to my pocket without Miss Nosey seeing what I was doing. Casey finally said “Let’s go grab a beer,” and that was the perfect cover. We finally got through the line and into the gondola (which was smaller then I remembered). Casey was taking pictures of everything and finally said, “we’re almost to the top!” That was my cue to stand up and go for it! I had Ashleigh stand up and after taking a picture together, I kind of kneeled and asked her to make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me. She said, "Yes!" It was the greatest day of my life!