Like many millennial couples, Keith and Margaux met on a dating app called Hinge, which recommended the two to each other as their respective “Most Compatible.” Intrigued by her charming smile and fun answers to Hinge’s curated prompts, Keith “liked” her profile and sent her a message, hoping she’d accept, and they’d match.

Despite Keith’s clever opening line, a few days passed with no match. Keith assumed she wasn’t interested, but Margaux has consistently maintained that she was just “very busy” with her active social calendar.

Margaux’s social demands eventually subsided, and she responded to Keith’s message and matched. After bantering back and forth for a few days, they agreed to meet for their first date on May 5, 2022, at Keith’s favorite neighborhood bar in D.C., the Crown and Crow. Although Margaux was inherently skeptical of a man who would invite her to an Irish bar on Cinco de Mayo, she was excited to meet Keith and hear (what she expected to be) his strong southern accent.

Keith arrived at the bar first and grabbed a table facing the door. When Margaux walked in, Keith was taken by the charming smile Margaux flashed across the room. Although

Margaux was mildly disappointed that Keith’s accent didn’t match his Nashville background, she loved how easy and fun Keith was to talk to. One drink quickly became

two and then a few more.

When a spot opened up at the bar, Keith suggested they move. But Margaux disagreed, voicing her preference to talk face to face. Impressed by Margaux’s backbone and already charmed by her smile, Keith knew immediately that he wanted to see her again.

Summer and Fall of 2022 passed in a blur. Keith and Margaux took their first trip together to Charlottesville, VA in July, where Margaux patiently allowed Keith to take her on a tour of the law school (followed, of course, by Bellair sandwiches and a few wineries). Keith met Margaux’s parents at her home in Westport, CT that November, and Margaux flew to Nashville for New Years Eve to meet Keith’s.

On that trip, the two decided they wanted to move in together. Much of 2023 was spent planning how to combine their lives (when they weren’t planning how to spend their trip to France to visit Margaux’s relatives—Keith’s first trip to Europe!). In September, they moved in together, and in November, they added a third member to their growing family: Mac, a Dachshund-Terrier mix whose mom, Molly, had been fostered (and later adopted) by Keith’s parents.

With Margaux focused on the logistics of the move and the new puppy, Keith was secretly preparing to propose. In France, Keith took advantage of a quiet moment on the family’s back porch to ask Margaux’s father Ken for permission to marry her, which he happily granted (on the condition that Keith agreed to add Margaux to his cell phone plan). Using the diamond from a ring his grandmother gave him (and with a little helpful guidance from Margaux), he commissioned Margaux’s dream engagement ring and snuck it into their home.

The problem was, Keith didn’t know when, where, and how he wanted to propose. He knew Margaux wanted a quiet, intimate proposal, but he also wanted to make it special. With plans to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2023 with Margaux’s family in Westport, he brought the ring along in the hopes that the right moment would present itself.

But every time he thought it would, fate intervened. An unexpected friend would join Keith and Margaux as they walked along the beach. New Years celebrations didn’t leave time for a quiet moment. Even their dog, Mac, took his turn spoiling the mood.

On the last night of their trip to Westport, Keith was frustrated. Margaux noticed, but he made up a flimsy excuse as his mind raced, thinking through how many weeks and months he’d have to wait to find the next perfect moment to propose. Margaux placed her hand on his chest, trying to calm his nervous energy.

Out of the blue, she remarked, “You know, 2023 was so good to us, how are we ever going to make 2024 even better?” Keith wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. Keith quickly fished out the ring, placed the ring box on Margaux's chest, and responded, "How's this for a start? I don't want to wake up a single day in 2024 without you as my fiancée." Shocked but thrilled, Margaux accepted, and the two kept their engagement a secret until informing friends and family the next morning.