Teddy: Taylor and I were first introduced through an Instagram account for incoming freshmen at UH. Before the semester started, we met at the dining hall to eat sub-par pizza. I was immediately attracted to her. We talked for a long time, mostly about our faith and how we felt at peace despite our exciting and unfamiliar surroundings. I wouldn't say it was love at first sight, but I did leave the conversation knowing she was the type of girl I'd want to marry. Taylor: Our story began with Teddy reaching out to me after connecting through a UH class of 2025 Instagram page. It’s funny because I was planning to reach out to him due to our similar interests and goal to find a church and community in Houston. We stayed in contact as friends over the summer of 2021 and met in person as soon as we were both at school. After meeting Him, it was evident that he was brilliant– I could tell by the way he talked. Secondly, his respect and genuine love for people could be observed from across the room. As the two of us sat at the Moody Dining Commons eating pizza, I could tell that we would become solid friends. If only I had known where meeting up with a “friend” at Moody Dining Commons would lead me…

Teddy: Thankfully, Taylor and I adopted a mostly overlapping friend group. This allowed me to spend more time with her at sporting events, dining hall meals, and games of Uno on the dorm room floor. Before long, though, I preferred time alone with Taylor. I had an extra ticket to see Dayglow in Austin after a friend had canceled a week prior. Naturally, I asked the prettiest girl I knew if she'd like to join me. For some reason, she said yes, agreeing to drive two and a half hours with a boy she barely knew to see a band she kinda knew. Before lining up outside Stubb's Amphitheater, we ate pulled pork sandwiches from Buc-ee's and did some thrift shopping at a local vintage store. I had failed to explicitly communicate any romantic intentions for this trip, so I was nervous to hold Taylor's hand or grab her waist during the concert. Instead, we swayed, giggled, and sang along. We drove through P. Terry's on our way back to Houston and listened to Frank Ocean's "Channel Orange" while devouring burgers and fries. I didn't want the drive back to end. When it did end around 2:30 a.m., we shared a long hug and walked over to a small pond on campus next to the architecture building (foreshadowing). We sat and talked for about an hour, beating around the bush. Around 3:30 a.m., we shared our feelings for each other and agreed to prayerfully decide if we were meant to pursue romantic relationship. The answer was yes. Taylor: Teddy and I spent more time getting to know each other within our friend group. Whether it was going bowling on campus, attending our first UH football game, or eating a meal at the dining hall, the two of us just clicked, and I found myself wanting to spend more and more time with him. Over time, we started hanging out– just us, doing laundry, going to Church, and getting food afterward. I found him interesting and attractive but was unsure if he was on the same page. In hindsight, it could’ve been a hint to me when he paid for my dinner after we shared a meal at Auntie Chang’s Dumpling House. One day, Teddy asked me if I’d want to go on a day trip with him to Austin for a concert. The obvious answer was yes because I trusted him and could tell he had good intentions. While I couldn’t tell if this was a date, I was excited to spend more time with him and get to know him more. The concert was a blast, and during certain moments, I felt like I could consider the night a date but I still didn't want to assume. During the drive back, we listened to Frank Ocean (my favorite artist at the time) and ate P. Terrys, ending our time in Austin perfectly. We got back to the campus parking lot super late, got out of the car, and hugged for what felt like 10 minutes. It was such a pure moment and it was clear that both of us had a great time and didn’t want the night to end. Then, we walked over to the architecture pond and sat on the bridge for a little. Something in me knew that he might make a move, and I was right. He put his arm around me and we both expressed our interest in each other. That night we agreed to be in prayer about whether a relationship was in our future and that we’d see where things go…

Teddy: Five months before the proposal, I bought two tickets to see Dayglow in Houston. Three months before the proposal, I ordered Taylor's ring. One month before the proposal, I began inviting people over for an engagement celebration cleverly disguised as a day-after-Halloween costume party. Taylor's persistent curiosity made it difficult to maintain secrecy. I was walking on eggshells throughout the entire month of October, defusing more than a few potentially spoiling situations. When the day, November 1, finally came, I felt at peace despite all the previous panic of planning. Taylor and I watched Dayglow perform live together for the third time. This time, I wasn't afraid to hold her hand or grab her waist. We sang along to songs that transported us back to that first date over three years ago. This time around, the drive home was five minutes rather than 150. However, I had to fabricate some reason to take us back to campus instead of joining our friends at the "Halloween Party" my roommates were currently hosting. Taylor went along with it, but didn't want to get out of the car once we got back to campus. Her stubbornness in this moment was immensely comforting, since it meant she had no idea what was about to happen. I insisted that she join me for a quick, insignificant errand. She begrudgingly stepped out of the car and walked with me. When we stepped off the sidewalk and toward the architecture pond, she squeezed my hand and said, "Babe?" We stood in the spot where we first confessed feelings for each other. I knelt down and asked Taylor to marry me. She was overwhelmed but accepted. When we opened the door to my apartment, we were greeted with hugs and tears from many of our closest friends, clad in goofy costumes. A handful of them came from out of town, including our older sisters and my Best Man. The night couldn't have gone better. Taylor: Honestly, the week leading up to our engagement was one of the busiest weeks of my life. I was swarmed with architecture homework, trying to get ahead because I had planned to go on a trip with my friends the following week. I knew I’d be getting engaged in either late 2024 or early 2025, so I knew something was coming. However, between work and school deadlines, I didn’t have the capacity to stress too much about our engagement timeline. Teddy and I were clearly in different boats when it came to stress. That Friday, Teddy and I had tickets to see Dayglow in concert for the third time, and there was also a “Halloween party” the same night that he and his friends were throwing. That afternoon, I got my nails done with my friends, thinking it was for my trip, but they’d set me up to think that. The concert finally rolled around and it stuck out to me that Teddy got valet parking and special tickets that gave us access to a lounge and bar. Still, I didn’t spend much time overthinking and just focused on being with my best friend. When the concert ended, we were supposed to head to his apartment for the party but had to make a pit stop so he could pick up part of his costume from a friend who was doing work at the architecture building. In hindsight, I don’t know how I didn’t read into this. We parked at the architecture building around 11:30 pm, I got out of the car with him, and when we started walking in an unusual direction, I realized what was happening. He led me over to the same pond where we became boyfriend and girlfriend, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. My answer was the easiest yes I had ever spoken. Afterwards, we went to his apartment for what was actually an engagement party. I was extremely emotional seeing our closest friends and both of our sisters from out of town. It was a perfect night.