Katie and Chris fell in love downtown Annapolis so it was fitting that we included their pups and their favorite ice cream shop in their Annapolis summer engagement photos!
From Katie::
“It all started in May 2014. Chris and I met on match.com. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan at the time, and had been there for three years. He was about to come home to the USA, and move to his new duty station in Quantico, VA. His friends suggested he get on match and set DC as his location so he could meet someone who he wouldn’t have met otherwise. My girlfriends suggested the same for me. We matched in mid-May, and communicated daily until he came home on July 5th. I knew from our daily chats and skype dates that he was so different from anyone I had ever met. When I hung up after our first skype date I literally said out loud to an empty condo (except for my dog) “wow… I’m in trouble.” I knew this was something very special.
So, we had our first date on July 11, 2014. We went to Mike’s on the South River, since I figured he needed to experience some seafood and a good view. I knew it wasn’t a fancy place, but I also knew Chris wouldn’t be judgmental and expect five star dining. He actually said it reminded him of home (Arkansas) in that it had an almost southern feel to it. Anyway, we ordered steamed shrimp and crab cakes. I remember him saying of the crab cakes “I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this this my whole life.” Welcome to Maryland, Christopher… 🙂 Following Mike’s we went downtown to walk around. It was his first time in Annapolis, and it was a beautiful day. I made it known that Kilwin’s is the best place for ice cream in my opinion. (We just now talked about it and I think we had that on our second date.)
Fast forward almost two years, on Memorial Day weekend, it happened. His brother, Brooks, was in town visiting for the long weekend, and we were excited to all hang out. A proposal was the last thing I was expecting– we had a busy weekend lined up and lots of fun things planned. So, on Friday the 27th of May, we took his brother to Mike’s for dinner for some seafood, since that’s where we take the out of towner’s now. We had a few beers and crab cakes, as usual. Everything was great and normal! After dinner we were planning to go to a bar, so I went to use the rest room and met the boys out front. Chris said “Let’s show Brooks the dock,” so we started walking toward the dock on the side of the restaurant. Then Chris told Brooks to put his leftovers down and use two hands to take a picture of us. I thought “well that’s bossy but ok… ” Then I looked back at Chris and he was down on one knee. And I thought “ohhh that’s why he was being bossy… Wait WHAT. HE’S PROPOSING?!?” He had picked out a beautiful rose gold ring with a diamond halo solitaire. Absolutely perfect. I loved it. He could have pulled out a ring pop and I would have said yes. He kept it simple “Katie, will you marry me?” And I cried happy tears. And of course I said yes. I was in shock and was so surprised. An added bonus is that Brooks had gotten pictures of the entire proposal. He was in on the whole plan and I never suspected a thing. Such an amazing keepsake. He caught the look of shock on my face and the hopeful look on Chris’s face. Those pictures bring me right back to that moment every time I glance at them.
Now whenever we go out to eat, and I go to use the rest room before we leave the restaurant, Chris likes to say “don’t be too disappointed- nothing cool is gonna happen when you get back. Just FYI. The coolest thing already happened. I’ve got nothing else planned.” The wedding is March 18, 2017 at Silver Swan Bayside on Kent Island. We are praying for good weather and there will most likely be crab cakes. Because all good love stories start with crab cakes.”
