For me, Brittany, the story starts a lot longer ago than it does for Michael.

Back in middle school music class, Michael was considered one of the "cool kids" (to this day, his sister Lauren is shocked by this). One of his frequent activities was being obnoxious. Awkward shy ol' me was the brunt of that one time, when he made fun of my (what I thought were super cool) DC Skate Shoes (..he might've been right.. I have never been a skateboarder in my life..). Michael has no recollection of this, but it's what led to my initial outreach many years later..

Fast forward 10+ years later to the age of internet dating (LOL). Swiping along, I came across the kid who made fun of my shoes all those years ago, except now he's all grown up and pretty cute. So I shot my shot, as the kids say, and reached out to him. We chatted for a few weeks, met up in person for our first date at the Dayton Beer Company in May of 2020, and the rest is history!

Fast forward to May 2024. We've now been together 4 years, living together almost 3, and just fully invested in each other at this point. I'm about a year into badgering Michael about a ring.

May 24th, the day after our 4 year anniversary, we're set to go to a Reds Game with Michael's sister, Lauren, and our good friend, Ryan. Halfway through the game, I got to thinking, "wow, Michael organized this outing mostly on his own and without asking for my input.. hmm" so I decided to say to him, "You know, I kind of thought you were going to propose tonight," to which he replied with his usual spiel about how he "can't afford it" and "wants to wait" blah blah blah. I, admittedly slightly intoxicated at this point, cried a little LOL. Little did I know..

About an hour later, under the fireworks after a Reds win, Michael starts whispering all the niceties in my ear. When I turn to look at him, he's getting down on one knee, and pulls out the most beautiful ring. What a whirlwind of a night. But the easiest yes of my life.