How We Met
From Amanda: We met in the fall of 2007. Before we actually met, we later discovered we had been in a couple photos together specifically at a friends Halloween party in 2007. All who were there probably remember what an epic party that was as well as the Red Drinks that came after at the bar Kendalls. Ours is a love story of worlds colliding. So the first time we really actually met was at the Tonic Room in Lincoln Park. We had known of each other but this was the first time we were introduced by a friend. Shortly thereafter, Billy asked me on our first date to Soupbox in Lakeview. I remember I was coming home from work and Billy called and asked me if we wanted to meet there. It was a cold November evening, so I agreed I was up for a cup of delicious soup. After that, we really became inseparable. It was winter so we spent a lot of that winter hanging out at Billy's apartment and watching Flight of the Conchords. We also discovered pretty instantly that Spoon was a favorite band of both of ours after my phone ringed and "The Way We Get By" was the ringtone. After a few months of hanging out, Billy made it official in January and we were officially dating. The way he asked I'll always remember. He was going to visit a few buddies from college in California and he wanted to tell them that he had a girlfriend back in Chicago named Amanda. It was one of the sweetest moments!
From Billy: I was introduced to Amanda in a crowded Lincoln Park bar on a weeknight, she was described as someone that 'really loved music,' and I got her phone number but also made a new Facebook friend. Soon after, the highlight of my work day (working in sales at a small web agency) was writing and receiving Facebook messages from my new crush. The best part about social media or texts is you can take your time and think through your responses... and boy did I work hard at coming up with (what I thought was) the funniest, most entertaining responses. Nothing made me happier than seeing that she wrote back! Messages turned to dates, dates turned into weekends and weekends turned into weeks and weeks by her side. Within months Amanda and I went to pick up a dog she wanted to adopt, famously named and known as Francie or Francie The Dog/Franciedog. At that moment, when driving home as a trio I thought to myself "Well this is it, we are a family."
The Proposal
From Billy: At first it was hard to pick the right time and place to propose. There were so many fantastic options; Christmas, Amanda's Birthday (February), our anniversary (January), Valentine's Day and the obvious Thailand trip. I started the ring process without having the final date in mind, first with a phone calls to Ricky and Meredith, followed by a mysterious 'lunch' in which all three of us headed to see a jeweler. This jeweler happened to be a close friend of Meredith who also knew Amanda's style, taste and most important, her personality. How lucky was I? A great jeweler that also knew the woman to whom I was going to propose.
The session went quickly and before I know it, I had a perfect ring in my hands. It was at this point that I planned my strategy. Most people thought that this would occur in Thailand, which would have been incredible without a doubt. After much consideration, I ended up choosing Christmas morning; it's a day where we already planned on seeing our families, but we also had time alone (at the start) with the added benefit of a four-legged ring bearer at my disposal. Also, we already had a trip planned the next day, that could then be an engagement trip! What followed was one of the best moments of my life... I'll let Amanda share the play by play.
From Amanda: We got engaged on Christmas morning 2013. That morning, the biggest gift for me or I thought was the gift of sleeping in. We had been out pretty late the night before at a Christmas Eve dinner with Billy's family, and had a bit more gift wrapping to do when we got home. I wanted to sleep in a little later than normal but when I woke up, I saw Billy was all dressed and ready to go in a collared shirt and sweater. I didn't think really anything of it, as sometimes Billy can be an early riser.
We started the morning in our family room by our Christmas tree. Our dog Francie was with us and Billy made me a coconut coffee. We gave each other only a few gifts this year because all year we had planned a special trip to Thailand and that was really our gift to each other.
So after exchanging a few gifts, Billy said he was going to retrieve the iPad he was giving me in the office. I knew about this gift ahead of time, because it was something he said he'd get me for the long flight to Thailand.
Billy proceeded to get the present that I already knew about, and I'm sitting there thinking nothing of it. I'm hanging out drinking my coffee and he comes walking back and hands me a box. As he was standing in front of me I read the tag:
To My Best Friend, Travel Buddy, Love of my Life, Fiance?
My eyes immediately welled up with tears. By that time, our dog Francie was running towards me and she had jingle bells on her collar that we're ringing with each step towards me and the ring was on her collar. Billy got down on his knee took the ring off Francie's collar and proposed. It was absolutely perfect and the best part is I was completely caught off guard. After that, I called my grandma and family in CT. We decided we wouldn't call anyone else, as we were heading out for Christmas gatherings with our families.
It was the most amazing day and it was filled with so much love, happiness and excitement! The next day we jetted off to Thailand and for the next 11 days we traveled to Bangkok, rang in 2014 in Koh Samui and went to to Northern region Chiang Mai. I think we both agree that it was one of our most favorite trips together, not just because Thailand is an amazing place, but because we were celebrating such a special moment in our lives!