Heather:
Tyler and I met for coffee for our first date, at Time Horton’s. I got there early, because I was super nervous, and found a lovely table on the patio. For a July day it was actually comfortable and not sweltering as most St. Louis summer days are. I remember sitting at the table, studying for an exam, and I looked up to see Tyler turning the corner to the patio. This big “WHOOSH” hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t know what it was. I just knew that whatever it was, it was super positive and calming and I just felt like he was going to impact my life in a major way. We sat and talked and talked and talked. Every topic just flowed right into another topic, and it felt like two old friends who had known each for years. Before I knew it, we looked at the time and we had been talking for 6 hours! Tyler had to go, because he had made plans with a friend for that evening, but I knew we would see each other again. Our second date was seeing Jaws on Art Hill. Then we kept seeing each other. We would meet up at the gym and workout together, he would drive from St. Peter’s down to the city after work just to go run with me. We spent a few months just being friends, and then one October day while getting ready for a wedding I was taking him as a date to, it just hit me that I REALLY liked this guy and wanted to be more than just his friend. He is the kindest and most selfless man I have ever met, and he softens up my hard edges. I knew he was something special when my car battery died and he left work to jump it for me. He then proceeded to buy me a portable battery jumping pack for my car so I wouldn’t ever be left stranded. I am so lucky to get to spend the rest of my life with him. 

Tyler:
Our first date was on July 11th, 2015 at the Tim Horton’s coffee shop in Maplewood. I went on the date thinking it would go like all my previous first dates where would we talk for maybe an hour or so just to see if we got along or if it was even worth continuing communication. This was not the case when I met Heather. We ended up talking for 6 hours outside on the patio of Tim Horton’s. She was so easy to talk to, and it felt like I had known her far longer than just one day. Maybe it was our previous conversations via email and text messages that gave that feeling, but I knew that no matter the outcome I wanted this person in my life. The date would have continued on past those 6 hours if I hadn’t already had made plans for that evening with friends. Even though I knew I had to leave, I didn’t want to. She texted me later that evening to make sure I had made it safely back home. It stunned me that she would text me like that, but it meant a lot to me. I knew I couldn’t wait to go out with her again.

The first date

The proposal

Heather:
We started attending church together at Ascension Lutheran Church in 2017, and one of the first events we got involved in was the Easter Egg Hunt. This was the first year for the cotton candy machine and Tyler jumped right in to operate it and became known as the cotton candy man. His one request for the next year was to have me work it with him. So this year, March 17, 2018, we ran the machine together. We woke up and did our normal routine. We stopped at Donut Drive-In to bring donuts to everyone working the event, and we jumped right in to work. By the end of the event, I had cotton candy in my hair and all over my clothes. I just felt sticky and could not wait to get home and get cleaned up. As we are winding down, Tyler tells me Pastor needs something from the church. I said “right now?!” and he said “yeah right now, come on.” So without question I went. This is how I knew I was exhausted from the morning because I don’t just “do as I’m told” without knowing the end result and or asking more questions. We walk up to the church and Tyler tells me that pastor needs something from near the altar. As I walk down the aisle, I’m getting extremely agitated because there is nothing on the altar that Pastor would remove from the church. I turn around in frustration to find out what he is talking about to find Tyler fumbling in his pocket and say “Oh crap you turned around too quick.” At that point, I knew exactly what was happening and burst into tears. He kept fumbling and reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch with the ring that he had in his pocket ALL MORNING. I don’t even remember him finishing his question before I shouted yes at him. I couldn’t wait to say yes to him. We went in and couldn’t wait to tell Pastor the news. I still couldn’t believe that he picked that moment to propose. I had on a tshirt and yoga pants, and no makeup on, but he had a plan! He knew that day I would be so focused on the event that I wouldn’t question him about anything (which he was so right). He knew my late Irish grandmother was so special to me and he felt St. Patrick’s Day was a perfect day to pay a tribute to her. Lastly, St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers, with Tyler being an engineer, he felt it couldn’t hurt to have someone in his corner on this day when he was so nervous.

Tyler:
The day I proposed to her took some planning on my part. I had to be quick thinking because I didn’t know how things were going to work. I chose the 17th of March as it is St. Patrick’s Day. Heather is very proud of her Irish heritage and loved her Grandma Clarkson very much. I am also an engineer and St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers. It couldn’t hurt to have a little extra support. The hard part of planning was two things: 1) I can’t lie her without tearing myself apart and 2) she’s exceptional at putting clues together. I picked up the ring the Wednesday before St. Patrick’s Day and it took everything I had to keep my composure and keep it in a safe. I had already received the blessing from her Dad and her Grandpa Brelje, but I also verified with Heather’s Mom prior to asking that I wouldn’t interfere with the plans for Heather’s little brother Brendan’s, birthday celebration later that evening. I also asked permission from our Pastor, Pastor Clark, if I could pop the question in church. I chose the church as the location to pop the question because Heather brought me back to God after separating myself from the church for personal reasons. I also chose the church because I want God to be a part of our marriage. We arrived at church and school early in the morning on the 17th to work the Easter Egg Hunt. Heather and I were set up to work the cotton candy machine. Little did she know, I had the ring in my pocket the entire time. I was so paranoid. I kept feeling my pocket to make sure the ring was still there. I had planned to take Heather into the church just before we began clean up so that it didn’t seem strange when I asked her come with me to go check on something. I acted like I talked to Pastor about going to double check on egg gathering, but I was double checking to make sure that nobody was in the church. What I didn’t plan on was just how much cotton candy was on our clothes at this point. The whole time walking over to the church Heather kept asking why we were going there. I could tell she was getting irritated with me, but I had to keep cool because I wasn’t going to let anything ruin my plans. I was almost foiled by a couple gentlemen setting up for the evening service. Luckily, I was able to ask them to give us a moment without arousing her suspicion too much. I asked Heather to go check by the altar to verify there was nothing up there so I would have a chance to get the ring out of my pocket. Thanks to my typical fumbling, I couldn’t get the ring out of my pocket before she turned around. All I could say was “Oh crap, you weren’t supposed to turn around that quick.” Her emotions went from being irritated at me for sending her on a wild goose chase to quickly being over joyed. I didn’t even get the full question out before she said yes.