Nikki: 
Honestly, Bryan and I have known each other since we were teenagers, and with that, we didn't really  have that traditional "first date". My favorite story to tell is the story of how we met... It all started when we  were in High School. I lived in Festus and went to the local Senior High. A new family moved in next door to  us and I quickly became a babysitter and friend to this spunky little girl named, you guessed it, Michelle. She  was this cute little thing with the curliest hair I had ever seen. She always wanted to be around, just happy to  sit and talk and do whatever. One day, I’m crawling out of bed as my teenage self, and my dad asked me to  go check the mail, or some other chore. I was still in my jam jams when I hear “NIIIIKKKKKIIIII” and low and  behold Michelle comes running over to me. (I’m not even fully awake at this point.) I’m blinking and looking  around like “What was that?” when Michelle comes over and takes my hand (it’s just about the cutest thing in  the world… this little curly-headed mess coming my way). Before I know it, she’s leading me over to her  house by the hand and telling me that I just have to meet her big brother who is on a break from his school,  Missouri Military Academy…MMA. So here I am, half awake, being pulled over to meet some strange older  brother thinking “how did I get myself into this” and “do I look okay?” Somewhere in the middle of that I see him and NOW I really have seen just about the cutest thing in the world. There he is, in full dress uniform,  looking all spiffy, and here I am in my jammies. Great, Just Great. =) We both made it through the awkward  introductions…… thank you VERY MUCH Chell…. And went back to our mornings. Only time would tell that it would be the beginning of something spectacular. 

Bryan:
Nikki and I have known each other for a while and to be completely honest, I don’t think either of us remembers our first actual date. Unless you count the Valentine ball at my school. We do both remember when we met though. I’m sure she’ll explain her side, so I’ll try to explain mine without going too deep. 
  
There is some needed backstory. I went to Northwest High School for my freshman year of high school. I didn’t do that well and after several years of being threatened with it, I got sent to military school. I then start at Missouri Military Academy in the Fall of 2005. After I started school there (and lived there by the way), both of my parents moved. More importantly, my mom and my little sister Michelle moved to Festus, Mo. I knew about the move but had never been to her new house. I finally get a fall break a couple months into school. This means that I have time to come home for a week or two until school starts up again. My mom and Michelle come to pick me up and on the drive home, I keep hearing about this neighbor girl who is my age from Michelle. Michelle loved it when she came over and watched her. After the two-hour drive home, I just want to go inside and unpack. Michelle had a different agenda though. Michelle bolts from the car as soon as we get to my mom’s house and runs next door to knock. I am getting something from the back of my mom’s suburban when I see Michelle dragging the next-door neighbor from their house and across our yards to meet me. That is how I awkwardly met my future wife. She was dragged over from her house to meet me as soon as we stopped in the driveway of my mom’s new house that I had never been to.

Fun Bonus Story: Later that year my mom asked to see my key to her house. I handed it to her expecting she needed it for something. She did. She immediately gave my key to Nikki, and that’s the story of how my mom decided that it was more important that Nikki had a key to our house than me!

How did you meet?

The proposal

Nikki:  Okay, So. Bryan and I LOVE to get away. This past February we celebrated 8 years together in the cute  little town of Hermann, which happens to be one of the best Missouri Wine Trails. We decided to get away  and stay at one of our favorite little B&Bs: the Inn of Hermannhof. We ended up staying in one of the cottages  on the hill overlooking the town of Hermann. It was so beautiful. The room was equipped with a fireplace,  deep soaking tub, and the best view in town (Bryan of course…LOL.) We spent the weekend winery hopping  during the day and cuddling at night. It was one of the most perfect weekends ever. On Sunday February  25th, our actual anniversary date, we woke up and decided to head out early so that we would be back in  Saint Louis in time for the Blues game… BIG fans here. We drove home went about our normal “getting ready  for work” routines and watched the game. Sunday night, after I had gotten out of the shower and into my  jammies, Bryan came over to me. I was on my phone working on something when he knelt down onto the  floor and pretended to help me with it. It was about this point when I thought to myself... “what are you doing  on the floor?” and “why are you being all weird”. LOL. He waits for me to finish and then low and behold, he  looks me in the eyes and pulls out a ring…All I could do was cover my mouth and shake my head yes. Yes,  Yes, A MILLION times YES. He put the ring on my finger and I hugged him and gave him a kiss. His heart  must have been beating every bit as fast as mine was. #IChooseYouToo #MeantToBe

Bryan:  I didn’t have much of a plan. I had had the ring for a while at that point and I knew that I wanted to ask that weekend. I can’t remember where we went to be honest but, I remember having the ring with me. I just kept it close the whole weekend and I was waiting for that perfect moment. I didn’t know what the moment would be but, I knew that there would be one. Well, it never was perfect enough. I remember getting home and being tired and ready to just lay around the house, I was kind of bummed that I never found the right moment. I think it was finally around 9 o’clock at night and I couldn’t wait any longer. I just grabbed the ring and went over to her and told her how much she meant to me and that I can’t wait to spend forever together, and I asked!