“When Gabe got down on one knee and proposed, my only response was: ‘How did you do that?!'”
Dani and Gabe first met each other in high school where they had the same Anatomy class, “Gabe was always making the teacher laugh with his sarcastic answers and I couldn’t help but laugh too. To this day, humor is a defining characteristic of our relationship!” But, it wasn’t until 2010 that they went on their first official date. “The first time we officially spent time together outside of school, was Gabe’s brother’s wedding day. To be completely honest, we barely knew each other when we started dating!” Gabe says that he knew Dani was the one way back when he was a freshman in college and she would travel to Grand Rapids to see him when she was still in high school, “I didn’t have a car so she would have to be the one to travel every time if we were going to see each other. I didn’t think she would want to do that and would break up with me. But she came down to visit and watch me play rugby every weekend she had free and genuinely enjoyed doing it. I knew way back then that I wanted to marry her.”
“I am known for my planning and always wanting to know exactly what is going on, so everyone assumed I would know when Gabe was going to propose.” But to Dani’s surprise Gabe was able to pop the question when she least expected it. They were in the process of moving to Iowa together and didn’t have a house rented yet, so Gabe told Dani that he needed to get the ring shipped to her parents’ house to be safe. “They told me they would bring it with them when they visited us after we found somewhere to live. What I didn’t know was that he had it shipped to the local FedEx store in Iowa and had secretly picked it up while I was running errands.” Gabe took Dani to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants and had hid the ring in a bag in the car. “I saw him rummaging around before we went inside and asked him what he was looking for so I could help find it. Needless to say, I ruined that plan and he had to wait until we got back from dinner to try again.” When Gabe got down on one knee, Dani couldn’t believe it.
After all the years Dani and Gabe have been together, they have found their favorite thing to do is watch movies. “After a busy week or a long weekend with family and friends, we love to relax and watch something together. Brand new, an old classic, documentaries, comedies, thrillers, rented at home or in the theater, we love them all!”
Congratulations on your engagement, you two!
