We met in the most romantic, modern way possible: online. William sent me a funny, relatively long first message (at least compared to the usual opener of “sup”) and made reference to the fact that we both volunteered at the same Raleigh non-profit organization, Safe Alliance. After a few back and forth messages, we arranged to meet for drinks and to play darts at a local sports bar. Shortly before our planned meeting, William asked to reschedule due to a work conflict. We made a tentative plan to meet up the following weekend. The day before our second planned meeting, William again asked to reschedule. I agreed, but on the caveat that when we did meet it would be for dinner and not just drinks. The following Monday, Memorial Day, we met for dinner at Tasu sushi bar in Brier Creek. Dinner went so well we had a drink afterwards at a nearby Irish bar and then went for a few rounds of pool at the Carolina Ale House. I think William almost let me win the first round before running the table. Despite the embarrassing defeat, it was still one of the best dates I've ever had.

It was a beautiful, humidity free, star-filled night in Beaune, France. The young(-ish) couple had spent the day recovering from their less-than-glorious, uphill, against the wind, cobblestone paved bike ride in wine country. After days of sneaking around what felt like the largest and most awkward ring box ever (and with the help of a few glasses of wine), William was finally ready to ask "the question." Under the guise of a champagne toast to the winding down of their European vacation, William escorted Whitney to the private terrace of their downtown rental. It was there, under the serene moonlight and stars, that William began to woo Whitney. Mentioning how great their 897 (give or take) years of dating had been, how amazing Whitney had been, and how much he loved her, he asked her to marry him. Overjoyed in the moment, Whitney answered as any girlfriend of many years would: "Yeah, I guess."