We met not long after Nathan moved back to Williamsburg from Germany after getting his Masters degree, and I had just graduated from law school and learned that I had passed the Virginia bar exam. The dating opportunities in Williamsburg left something to be desired, and we both ended up on a dating app. Just as I decided I was completely over any further attempt at online dating, I matched with Nathan. We had our first date at a Williamsburg institution, Aromas, and walked around Colonial Williamsburg on a cold November afternoon with our coffee (for Nathan) and hot chocolate (for me). He waxed poetic about the architecture, and how the gardens brought him joy. I tried to say something to make him laugh. Eventually, we discovered we had several connections in common. It turned out, I had even already met his youngest sister, Anneliese, before even knowing Nathan existed. He got a lot of credit for that--she is sweet and lovely, and everyone adores her. So obviously he comes from a good family.

Just after our first Valentine's Day (a trip to the Virginia Military Aviation Museum for a Big Band Swing Dancing event, in close-to-correct-time-period costumes), we suddenly had plenty of time to decide whether we could stand to be in close quarters for long stretches of time, because the world shut down for the pandemic. I happily discovered that yes, in fact, I do like him enough to share a home office while we worked from home, with no return-to-work plan in sight. From there, our relationship developed and improved over years of learning about each other and ourselves.

When we decided to go to Vermont in September 2025, I didn't have any idea Nathan had plans to propose. We had talked about it often, but this trip was as spur of the moment as I am able to be, and planned on two weeks' notice. We stayed at a run down summer cabin, right on the shores of Lake Champlain. We explored upstate New York, rafting down the Ausable Chasm, and visited Fort Ticonderoga. Unbeknownst to me, Nathan had an engagement ring in his pocket the whole time. Yes, including on the rafting adventure.

On our final full day, he told me he was sad we missed the sunset on the pebble beach the night before, and he would love to dress up, go to a nice dinner in Vergennes, and come back and catch it that night. As the Type A Planner I am, I calculated exactly what times we needed to be in each place to make this happen.

Except that we had too much fun at the fort, and we were behind exactly 15 minutes. That didn't stop Nathan from insisting we needed to use our admission token to access the top of the nearby mountain before it closed to visitors. I anxiously watched the clock tick faster and faster, but thankfully, we only ended up on the mountain for about 10 minutes, before we headed back to the cabin to change for dinner. By then, we were 25 minutes behind schedule.

We got to the restaurant and had an absolutely glorious meal. We sat outside, and I watched the sun sink lower and lower in the sky, trying not to panic and ruin the moment by rushing as the staff brought the check. It was all Nathan had asked for all weekend, and I didn't want him to be disappointed! We could just make it if we hurried. We Tokyo-drifted into the cabin parking area and raced down the stairs to the Adirondack chairs and I triumphantly beamed at the mostly set sun, proud that I got us back just in time to catch the last glimmer of light. I turned my head to see if Nathan was enjoying the view, and he was down on one knee, with a ring box I could barely see in the dark. I was so stunned. But, of course, I said yes! It was so special and unexpected. One of my favorite memories of the night we got engaged: as Nathan detailed all the times he almost popped the question all weekend, he ended with, "I wanted to propose on the mountain top, but I didn't want you to have to tell people we got engaged on the top of Mount Defiance!"

We have been through so many life experiences together. I turned 30 with Nathan, and for that birthday, he built me a ceiling-high blanket fort, complete with fairy lights, and we watched movies in the fort all day. We instituted the over-the-top Brei family Easter by creating a scavenger hunt complete with lip sync challenges, clues in plastic Easter eggs, and physics tests, all within 48 hours. We moved my mom, brother, five cats and a dog from Pensacola to Williamsburg (via a stop in Bethesda) over 17 hours. We have traveled together to Canton, New Orleans, Bari, Matera, Alberobello, New York, Pensacola, Orlando, Asheville, Dublin, Kilarney, Galway, Venice, Ljubljana, Krka National Park, Dubrovnik, Medjugorje, Mostar, Split, Zadar, Trieste, Dusseldorf, Weeze, Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga, and finally, Vergennes. We have dressed our cats up in Christmas sweaters to send out our first Christmas cards as a couple (we are aware we will never be able to top this pinnacle of Christmas cards). We have learned (very basic) Italian together. And we have made a home with each other.

We couldn't be happier to share this story with all of you, and continue to build our lives with all of you on our wedding day and beyond!