MATT: Our first date was at Shenandoah Joe’s Coffee Shop in Charlottesville, where we were both finishing graduate school. Our morning coffee date turned into lunch, then late afternoon, and dipped into dinner. Mariel immediately struck me as engaging, hilarious, and enthusiastic about life, and I wanted her in mine.

MARIEL: He enchanted me with his warmth, humor, listening skills, and hand-made watercolor postcards of bar toilets. I couldn't believe how much I liked him. That feeling hit like meeting your best friend on the school bus, someone totally new but immediately familiar, an immediate unfurling of inside jokes, rituals, and understanding. An epic sleepover that's never ended.

MATT: It was a blustery, rainy day - her favorite kind. On the anniversary of our first date, after cooking seared scallops over a bright summer risotto (which will forever be referred to as ‘ringsotto’), I proposed just in time for dessert. I’m glad she said yes!

MARIEL: In case I had any doubts (and I didn't), those mushroom umami bombs spread over a vibrant green "Ringsotto" would have blasted them out of the water. Matt pulled the ring box from his pocket and asked me the most beautiful question. Then we ran into the rain, to stare at the blue-green sapphire in the storming sunset.