BREAKING NEWS: We have been sitting on a secret for a brief second…she said yes! Our evening began atop Baltimore at the @The_Bygone, where we had one of our first dates in the city. Michele told me she was hungry soon after our first drink of the evening. The establishment was closed for a private event, so the staff “suggested” we try the Ruxton downstairs in Harbor East. After a quick, sweaty stroll over to the establishment on a classic mid-Atlantic hot and muggy early evening, we arrived at Michele’s surprise to find that my name was already on the guest list. I never make reservations anywhere. This should have probably been a red flag from the start of our relationship. I am surprised she wasn’t tipped off at this point, especially since it had been suggested a few minutes earlier. I just kept rolling with it, trying to play it cool. We were escorted to our table and ordered two glasses of champagne on the spot. By then, my heart was racing as I watched the staff remove the silverware and menus before our first course arrived. Little did Michele know that the whole restaurant and staff were already in on it. I was going to propose and honestly hoped to God I wouldn’t be embarrassed by a “not now, honey” or a “what are you doing?!” Or even worse, a single-word response: “No!” I started frantically texting one of my good friends, who also happens to be an exceptionally talented photojournalist I work with. I wanted to capture the entire moment in real time. My intention has always been to memorialize our official beginning so we can reminisce during those undeniably harder moments in a marriage, to a time when our strong foundational love, youthful excitement, and authentic emotions were at their rawest. Steve didn’t answer. The staff was awkwardly pretending to be busy in the bustling restaurant, but they kept looking at me as if they were wondering whether I had gotten cold feet at the last minute. I didn’t. Steve wasn’t answering. At this point, Michele knew something was afoot. Annoyed, she chimed in, “How are we supposed to order food if I don’t have anything to order from?” Her frustration after a long day was clear. I decided I had to go for it. At the last moment, I saw Steve hiding with his camera in the restaurant’s kitchen, ready to pounce on the moment. It was now my time to begin our journey toward marriage and my hopeful desire for ‘happily ever after.’ I got down on one knee – like every respectful gentleman should if he is asking the love of his life for her hand in marriage – and she did indeed ask me, “What are you doing?” I started laughing, but nonetheless, I presented a gorgeous ring in the exact style she had come to love and said she might want on her hand one day. As a U.S. Army veteran, she went into combat and self-protection mode, putting up her arm to separate us before emphatically responding. “Yes,” she said. And that is the beginning of our forever story. We are truly elated to announce our engagement. I am forever grateful to the whole collection of folks who made the evening as special as it was. Our friends offered so many great suggestions and expressed so much love to us since the beginning. From David, with the great idea for the Ruxton and who got the ball quickly rolling. To Alex, who took charge with his world-class team at @Atlas__Group. Rita, Roy, and their whole team nailed it and made the night one to remember. To Steve: a top-notch guy who never answers my texts before, during, or after work but has become a near and dear personal friend, thank you. You’re a hero, and I cannot express my gratitude to you enough. Thank you all! What a tremendous evening we will always remember. But most importantly, to my love, Michele, thank you for being my cornerstone through some of life’s highest highs and some of its very lowest pits of despair. We have pressed on when we had nowhere else to turn. Hell, we even got through an armed robbery on our third date in Washington, D.C. I love you, babe. I can’t wait to be your husband.