We met at Gustavus in 2012 – go Gusties! We were in local Greek life on campus, took a class together, and watched silly movies in each others dorm rooms. That friendship sat on the back burner as we started learning about life after college. In 2019 Alex reached out to catch up, so we started going to workout classes together. Later that spring, Paget realized Alex was the perfect match for her – something Alex had been saying for months (even years). And so as they say, the rest was history.

We proposed to each other on a planned trip to Bermuda in August 2021. Paget grew up in Bermuda, where her Dad still lives, and wanted him to be a part of the special proposal (since COVID-19 kept us from visiting Bermuda for the 2+ years we had been dating!). We hired a photographer, walked to the most special part of the island – Cooper’s Nature Reserve – and over the cliffs and setting sun, Alex said a few words, proposed, and then Paget did the same! We cared about the place, moment and people we were with much more than any elements of surprise. It was a perfect day.

Bicycles — and pants! We lived in Dallas at the time and Adam was a buyer for a large bicycle retailer; Anne worked in sports, but also had a clothing line of commuter bicycle apparel and Adam placed an order for a size run of the pants. A year or so later, we re-connected over a shared love of sports, travel, and dogs! We recently moved to Minneapolis for Adam’s work in the bicycle industry at Quality Bicycle Products. Anne no longer sells pants, but she still works in sports.

We’d spent New Year’s 2019 with some of our closest friends in downtown Chicago. Anne’s hometown of St. Charles is a Chicago suburb, so we swung through for a night and stayed at historic Hotel Baker. Before driving back to Minneapolis the next day, our plan was the stop in nearby Elgin at a one-room wooden church that Anne’s maternal ancestors built on their land after immigrating from Scotland in 1840. The church is where Anne was christened and is one of her most cherished places. That cold, snowy January day was the first time she was showing Adam the church … so it was especially fitting Adam proposed in front of the church while they were there. And, in December 2019, we were married in the church!

We met as members of the Twin Cities chapter of New Leaders Council, an organization focused on recruiting and training up -and -coming young leaders. During the first days of the program, Clare and I got an opportunity to really get to know each other’s life stories and professional goals. Needless to say we were both smitten by what we heard and jumped at the chance for more one on one time in between sessions.

For those who may not be familiar with the history of Gorée Island, during the Atlantic slave trade, this island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal served as the final stop for millions of Africans before they were shipped off to the Americas. Now the island not only serves as a sacred land/solemn reminder of the past, but also is a thriving community where people live, work and play. So, I couldn’t think of a better place, a location of such pain, which ripped families apart for Clare and I to stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and bring a new family together. It was such an amazing moment to be there in front of Clare’s family to propose in a place that meant so much to her.

Ryan and I met in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where both of us had attended college. I was visiting Eau Claire from the twin cities for a girls weekend with some friends. That same weekend my friend’s fiance had invited Ryan over to hang out. Ryan and I met that weekend by happenstance and instantly hit it off. We bonded over mutual love of travel, running, and the shared values. Ryan still lived in Eau Claire at the time so we dated long distance for a while before he moved to St. Paul in 2018. The rest is history!

Ryan and I knew we wanted to get married after we had been dating about a year but didn’t want to rush anything. Ryan proposed in February 2019, about two years after we met. It was a Sunday evening and I was headed over to Ryan’s apartment for dinner. When I got there the entire apartment was decorated in rose petals, the movie we saw on our first date was playing on the TV, and our favorite artist, Leon Bridges, was singing through the speakers. Ryan had six or seven little stations set up around his apartment with a love note and photos of us together doing the things we love at each one. The last note told me to meet him at a park down the street. When I arrived he proposed! I was completely surprised. We were so excited to finally be engaged, and spent the next year or so planning our wedding. I’ve also spent every day since then admiring my beautiful ring from Filigree!

Andy was my last-round interview for my first real job. After more than a year of exchanging song recommendations and favorite travel destinations via work email, we got together IRL for a concert at First Ave, a night exploring the dives of Minneapolis, a weekend up north... and, a few months later, our first trip abroad together. That trip sealed the deal and we've been exploring the world together ever since.

Andy planned a surprise trip to Costa Rica, combining all of our favorite things: an amazing ocean view, a gorgeous sunset, a great bottle of champagne, and just the two of us enjoying each others' company in a new, exciting place. He asked, "Want to watch sunsets with me forever?" and I said yes, of course!

We met at the end of our freshman year of college at the University of Minnesota. After weeks of encouragement from one of Margaret’s best friends, we met at a party. A couple weeks later, Charlie inboxed Margaret on Facebook to ask her on a FroYo date. The rest is history!

Charlie was recently admitted to the University of Michigan, where he will be pursuing his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) this fall. After learning of his acceptance, we decided to spend a quick weekend in Ann Arbor to get familiar with our future city and tour some apartments. Even though it was raining, Charlie convinced Margaret to do a quick walk around the campus. We ended our loop in the historic Michigan Law Quad, where Charlie had coordinated with a photographer to secretly capture the moment. We spent the rest of the evening sharing the news with friends and family and enjoyed a delicious Spanish tapas dinner downtown.

Megan and Henry originally met at a boxing gym, where they were good friends for several years. They bonded over their humor and goofiness, love of sourdough bread, and sweet dance moves, so in 2019, Henry took a chance and asked Megan out for Valentine's Day. He made tacos (with handmade tortillas!) for their first date and 4 years later—after multiple apartment moves, a global pandemic, and a pug named Churro—he asked Megan to marry him in Guatemala.

Megan and Henry went to Guatemala to visit Henry's immediate family for Christmas in 2022. They took a mini-vacation together and stayed at Hotel Atitlan located on Guatemala's beautiful Lake Atitlan. At sunset, Henry proposed to Megan, surrounded by majestic volcanoes and gorgeous flower gardens. He planned the whole trip, even hiring a professional photographer to capture the special moment. During their engagement photoshoot, they drank good champagne, danced to Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega (the only song that would play on Spotify), and laughed the whole time.

We met at college while both working as counselors for a summer camp hosted by our school. We built a friendship throughout the camp, and then started dating after the camp ended as we returned to school for the fall semester.

Luke proposed while we were spending a long weekend in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at Porcupine Mountains State Park. We were on a 16 mile hike! It was all wonderful, and then it poured rain for the last 3 miles of the hike, but we were so happy we didn’t even care!

Ben and I met at work!  We both work for an airline.  He works in the aircraft maintenance department and I am a flight attendant.  We met about five years ago as new employees, both eager to try out our new travel benefits!  Our first date was a day trip to Washington DC.  We explored monuments and museums and got to know each other.  After that date, we immediately knew that we were excellent travel companions and our relationship grew from there as we explored the world together!

Ben took me on a road trip up north in the fall of 2018 to see the colorful trees.  He proposed near Grand Marais on a beautiful rocky beach on Lake Superior.  I wasn’t expecting it to happen that day, but I suspected the proposal may be in the near future because my favorite ring at Filigree was no longer on their website. 🙂

We meet in Austin, Texas while we were both living there. It was my first weekend exploring the city and a coworker invited me to watch the Vikings Game with a few of his midwestern friends. Nicholas was there with our mutual friend and as soon as I walked in Nicholas’ dog jumped at me! The rest is history!

It was just an average night and Nicholas made my favorite dish, Green Curry. I had no idea he was going to propose. I don’t remember much except for crying once I saw the ring and him on one knee!

We met on a dating app, and decided to meet up at LynLake Brewery. I had something happen to a family member on our first date and immediately had to leave. John thought that it was an excuse and would never see me again. Later on that week, we met up at Modist Brewing and have been together since.

John proposed on a hike at Banning State Park. We are trying to hike at least every state park in Minnesota. We had been going to a different state park every weekend that summer. I thought it would happen a couple of times before his actual proposal, so I thought he was not going to propose that summer. So when John asked where we should go that weekend, I said "Banning," because we had not been there yet. I had no idea he was going to propose. During the hike, we stopped along a scenic spot on the Kettle River. We were both sitting on a rock when John pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked me to marry him. I was so excited that I did not even let him get down on one knee! And now that state park will always have a special place in our hearts and life.

Jordan was visiting a friend in Minneapolis when we met on a dating app. We had our first date at Barrio and ended the night with a walk around Minnehaha Falls. Jordan had to drive back to Cincinnati the next day, but it only took one date for both of us to realize we needed to see each other again. We started dating long distance, flying and driving back and forth to see each other whenever we could. After a year of this, Jordan was able to get a job in Minneapolis, and we moved into our first apartment in Uptown.

We had planned a trip to Paris, and Jordan knew he wanted to propose to Zoë there but wanted to make it more unique than the classic Eiffel Tower proposal. Zoë is a big bookworm and knew she wanted to visit the famous bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, while they were on their trip. After shopping around, we were leaving the store, and Zoë spotted a copy of her favorite book, Little Women, in the book stand outside. She saw it right away and immediately opened it, finding a bookmark with a ring attached to it. We had picked out her ring together, so she recognized it as hers and turned around to see Jordan on one knee. Jordan had hired a photographer who captured the whole thing and took our engagement photos in Luxembourg Gardens.