Our love story is really quite simple… I was in chiropractic school in Georgia, when Austin had recently moved back to the Peach State from Chicago where he had been working for a few years. We both found ourselves swiping through Hinge ("the app designed to be deleted"!). I was on the verge of giving up on dating altogether, but I’d already agreed to a date with Austin, so I figured I might

as well give it one last go.

We decided to go to dinner at my favorite Mexican spot in Smyrna, Cielo Blue (seriously, it’s the best!). When Austin showed up to pick me up, one of the first things he asked was, “Can I come up and meet your dogs?” Now, I probably should’ve been a bit cautious about inviting a practically-stranger into my apartment right away, but my excitement to introduce my dogs, Indigo and Flynn, won out. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get murdered, so maybe it worked out okay...

After getting the dogs' stamp of approval, we headed to Cielo Blue, and from there, things just clicked. I knew I’d be moving to Charleston for an internship in less than six months, but that didn’t faze Austin. The plan was that if I decided to stick around in Charleston after the internship, he’d join me. However, he and Theo couldn’t stay away and ended up moving in three months ahead of schedule

at the beginning of the next year.

We’ve been in Charleston ever since, and it didn’t take us long to realize we wanted to spend our lives together. Just a couple of weeks after he moved in, we went ring shopping! Although he didn’t end up buying the ring until over two years later, he couldn’t keep it a secret. He proposed in our living room, just a few hours after picking up the finished ring, and, of course, I knew it was coming because he’d shared every detail with me.

It was so perfectly us, and I wouldn’t have imagined it any other way. We’re thrilled to start this new chapter of our lives together, officially make Theo and Indigo siblings, and celebrate with all our loved ones who’ve watched our love grow. Here’s to the next adventure!