Mary

Our Proposal Brad and Mary got engaged on June 10, 2010. Our Engagement After many hints and teases, Brad and Mary went to Millennium Park for a concert and a picnic. Brad made a big deal out of keeping friends who would be at the concert away so it could be a romantic evening – or as romantic an evening surrounded by 3000 people can be. But the concert went on, and there was no ring. Then, Brad and Mary went to a wine bar after the concert. And despite sitting on a loveseat and sipping wine and whiskey, there was still no proposal. Fast forward three days, where an angry Mary had begun to give up on getting engaged before her trip to Paris. She had planned to do a mystery shop at a downtown restaurant and Brad suggested they go to the Art Institute first to see a Matisse exhibit to get ready for France. They walked through the exhibit and had some time to kill before dinner, so Brad said, "why don't we walk through the gardens?" As they walked, Brad scoped out the perfect location, away from the few people who were in the gardens. After walking along the perimeter, Brad said, "why don't we go over there, by that wall." As they walked Brad said, "will it be weird to be in France with your boyfriend?" Mary, who hadn't seen Brad reach his left hand into his left pants pocket, simply said no. So Brad said, "would it be better to be there with your fiance?" He then presented the ring and said, "will you marry me?" How We Met In May 2008, Brad joined a new running group called Beer Runners, looking for people to run with, as most running groups had strict routes and people who ran too slowly. A couple of months later, Mary, also looking for a good group of runners (and the boost in social life that running with other people brings), also joined Beer Runners. They talked for the first time at a wine and cheese party at Brad's house in July 2008. After Mary came back from a month-long trip to upstate New York, she returned to the running group and at the group's first Pub Run at the end of August, they spent the whole day together and began dating shortly after that. They moved in together in February 2010.