The  Story  of  Kate  and  Tony

We originally met while still at MIT. While we were friends, we weren't particularly close. That all changed when we both moved to the Pacific Northwest: Kate to Portland for Xerox, and Tony to Seattle for Microsoft.

We both now live in Washington, DC. Kate graduated and received her J.D. this May from American University Washington College of Law. She is currently studying for the Virginia Bar Exam and will start as an Associate at Oblon Spivak in September. Tony is the COO and head of sales and business development at Contactually, a tech startup he co-founded with two other friends in fall 2011. Contactually helps small business owners organize and stay in touch with their most important contacts; the company is growing fast and is currently 16-people strong.

Below is how we both remember that first year and how Tony eventually popped the question... in our own words. Enjoy!

How we met & Tony proposed -- according to Kate

When I started working at Xerox I continued my super-nerd trend and became a mentor for a high school robotics team. This team was integral to Tony and my relationship, because our story really begins in March of 2009 when the robotics team travelled to Seattle, WA for a three day competition. While I could have stayed at the hotel with the students, I knew Tony and his roommate from MIT and I asked if I could stay with them, thinking it would be more fun to stay with friends than with 30 high schoolers. I was right! Tony and I had known each other through mutual friends in college, but when we spent more one-on-one time together in Seattle we really hit it off. I left Seattle thinking that it had been a great weekend but unsure if anything would come of it because of the distance. I quickly found out that Tony had other ideas, and that he is a master of wooing. Within three weeks we knew there was something special between us and were determined to make it work. We played with our work schedules to have long weekends on alternating weeks, met each other's friends, and Tony even bought a car so that he could get down to Portland easier. Over the next year we had a great time exploring the Pacific Northwest together.

Fast forward through three amazing years of early morning and late night drives between Portland and Seattle, a move across the country, starting law school, Tony switching jobs (not once, but twice), trips to Hawaii and Europe, three apartments in Washington, DC, and Tony spending three months at a startup incubator in Mountain View, CA and you arrive on February 18, 2012. I had just finished a three day competition for mock trial in Pittsburgh, PA (wow, all big events seem to happen around competitions) and Tony had returned from CA to D.C. for good a few weeks earlier. So, we did what we always do on weekends - drive out of the city and go hiking. But on this Saturday, I was kind of tired and just wanted to do a low key hike. So, I vetoed Tony's plans of climbing a mountain and we opted to just hike along the C&O Canal in Maryland. Now, this hike might be super pretty in the Spring or Summer, but in February it looked creepy. I believe my exact words to Tony were "this looks like something out of a horror movie." Of course at this point I had no idea that anything was up, but I later found out that those 9 words had completely altered the path of the proposal. As I was completely unaware of Tony's master plan, we continued on what I thought was just another Saturday - hiking, stopping at a winery, and then heading back to D.C.

On the drive back to D.C. I should probably have realized something was up because Tony started to get a bit ornery/anxious to get back into the city. To be honest, at the time, I attributed this to him being hungry and didn't really think much of it. Then, when we got back in the city, Tony was ready and rearing to go out and pretty anti us getting drinks with any of my friends (shout out to Tom Moyer) before we ate dinner. Again, this probably should have been a sign, but I'm pretty dense and still just thought that he was hungry. Well we finally headed off to dinner after me changing outfits numerous times because Tony kept asking if I "was sure I wanted to wear that" and was "I sure I didn't want to wear heels" (I know, I know, I should have realized that something was up).

But, we headed to meet up with Tom (I had convinced Tony to get drinks) and as we walked through the park right next to our apartment Tony told me how much he loved me and got down on one knee. I've been told my face went through a bajillion emotions of shock and happiness before I said "YES!" After drinks and an amazing dinner at our favorite Belgian restaurant in D.C. we headed back to our apartment where Tony had planned a surprise party for me with our close friends to celebrate our engagement. It was one of the greatest and most memorable nights of my life!

The excitement and happiness has only continued as we've been planning the wedding, and I am so happy that four years after a high school robotics competition brought us together, I will be marrying my best friend and the love of my life!

How we met & Tony proposed -- according to Tony

Kate and I technically knew each other while at MIT, but it would be a stretch to say we were close friends. Kate apparently had a secret crush on me since junior year, but I was naively ignorant to it all. "Kate Weston? Oh yeah, she's that cute little short girl at A Phi. Friendly. Sort of quiet. Totally out of my league." Yeah, I think I remember having that conversion with some friends at some point. But I digress…

When we graduated, we both moved to the bright and sunny section of the US known as the Pacific Northwest. Kate had continued her nerdiness through high school AND college, and had found herself as a mentor on a high school robotics team. She was traveling up to Seattle for a competition, and ended up crashing with me and my roommate, Arjun. We got to knew each other a little better, and ended up going out for drinks with friends one night. All it took was a little prompting -- "Hey, I think Kate really likes you" -- and some liquid courage and I was turning on the charm. Before Kate knew what hit her, I had swooped in and stolen her heart.

Well, it really wasn't that easy. See, she was only in town for the weekend, but her birthday was coming up in less than a week. I knew I really had to turn on the romance if I was to turn a fun weekend into something more. So I did what any guy would do: bought a few cute gifts, made a homemade card, and shipped it to her address as soon as possible. Stuffed puppy? Check. Children's book about "Little Miss Giggles"? Check. Cute pet names already infiltrating our language and penned in the card? Check check check. Yep, I was in it to win it. I still remember calling her on her birthday and asking "So, did you check your mail???" Oh yeah, got a few cards. Hmmm. Next day: "Get any packages?" No, don't think so. Damn Post Office! My bundle of romance finally did arrive, and Kate was perfectly dee-lighted. I done good.

The coming two years were a whirlwind. Portland and Seattle aren't exactly right next door, so I had to buy a car. And not just any car: a '97 Toyota Corolla. Kate was to ride in nothing but the best! We ended up doing the "every other weekend" thing; every two weeks I'd drive down to Portland on Thurs night, and come back at 5am on Monday. Kate did the opposite weekends. We explored both cities, drank waaaaay too much good beer and wine, rekindled our mutual love for hiking and camping, and had all our firsts: first Christmas, first vacation, first flat tire, first beer festival. You know, the usual. While the weather wasn't always the best, those first few years were amazing. We did everything together, and I started to feel -- to know -- that Kate was going to be the one.

Eventually, we moved to Washington, DC. I for a non-profit fellowship, and she for law school. The first year went by in a flash, and before I knew it we were living in our own place, Kate was dominating law school, and I had started a company. That last point was a little contentious, though. As part of starting Contactually, we (my co-founders and I) were going to move to California for four months to really focus on growing the business. Kate was THRILLED! Right.

But she pulled through, after many (many) long Skype conversations late at night. And, while she was counting the days until her Romeo would return to DC, I was making Plans (with a capital P). I knew (and still know) without a doubt that Kate was the one and only girl for me, and that there was no point in waiting any longer: I was going to marry her, and I wanted to propose as soon as possible.

I had it all planned out. I was coming back to DC in February, and would propose right away. We'd go on an epic hike to the top of some manly mountain, I'd get down on one knee -- sweat still flowing down my muscled chest, propose with words more powerful than Shakespeare's, and she'd accept with a passionate "YES!" while rushing to my open arms. Birds would sing in celebration, flowers would bloom like never before. The world would be ours. Then, we'd rush back to DC where I'd have a surprise party waiting to celebrate our big news. It was going to be perfect!

Alas, I forgot one unplannable element in the equation: Miss Katherine herself. I had all the planning done weeks in advance. I told all our friends we were going to celebrate her Mock Trial success and -- since I had been gone for so long -- I wanted to make it a big surprise. Suckers. And I'd bought champagne and packed it with glasses in my hiking backpack. The ring was burning a hole in my pocket. But Kate, bless her lovely little heart, didn't feel like hiking a big mountain that day. No, no, she preferred to just "drive into Virginia and go wherever." Hmmmm, a predicament. I knew of a few great hikes and suggested them, but Kate wanted to try something "different." Greeaaaat. Well, we drove into Virginia, ended up back in Maryland, and that beautiful state produced a wonderful spot for me to propose: a swamp. A big ugly swamp that Kate described as "a scene out of a horror movie."

Well, that just about ended my mountain top proposal dreams. But I did still have to propose. After all, the surprise was still set for 9pm and I had to have proposed by then. A ticking time bomb! The hours spun by faster than I could have imagined, and I admittedly got a tad cranky. We went to a winery, but we couldn't find a private spot. We drove back into DC and got stuck in traffic. Before I knew it, it was 7pm at night, we were getting ready for dinner, and I was freaking out.

And here comes Tom Moyer. Good ol' Tom, Kate's good friend from high school. Of course you're in town that weekend! And you want to get drinks when? Now?! And we can't do it later?! Perfect. (I think I may have looked a little Joker-esque during those last few hours. I was going mad with fear of how and when I'd propose).

Well, we made plans with Tom and started walking to meet him before dinner. We live right next to an awesome park -- Meridian Hill -- with beautiful fountains and a great view of the Washington Monument. I thought, "Why not propose here? It just feels right." And so, planning be damned, a told Kate how much I love her, how I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else, and I got down on one knee. She cried, a moist-like substance secreted from my eyes in scant amounts, and she -- just like in my dreams -- said Yes with as much passionate as I had imagined.

To wrap things up, we ended up meeting up with Tom (he was more than a little embarrassed), got dinner and drinks at our favorite restaurant, then came back to the apartment. We still had the surprise party, and everyone else was as shocked and surprised as Kate was. 20 people actually ended up squeezing into the bathroom of our apartment, then bursting out to yell surprise. Kate looked like she was going to die (in a good way, of course) and we all had a great, revelrous night.

So that's the short (or not so short -- sorry!) story of how it all began. And I can only hope that the rest of the story is only as memorable and amazing as the start.