Courtney's Engagement Story: From Hinge To Hitched

Hey, guys — Courtney here! Today I’m writing about me and my fiancé, Lee’s, engagement story. It’s so fun to relive the moment and all the ones leading up to it <3.

I love telling people about our story because we met on a dating app — Hinge to be exact! I know some people who are shy or secretive about meeting on a dating app, and I’m the total opposite. I know that the dating landscape can be hard AF, and if you’ve been single and swiping for awhile, sometimes it doesn’t always feel like there’s anyone left out there that’s right (or good enough) for you.

I totally get it — and I’m here to tell you that whether you meet your special someone at work, at a bar, on the subway, or on a dating app, it doesn’t matter. I’m also here to tell you that if you’re happy being single and don’t want to be in a partnership, that’s okay, too! I’m a huge advocate of doing whatever works best for you, and to stop worrying about what other people are doing.

For me, I ended up meeting my future hubby on Hinge.

How We Met

(pictures by the talented and amazing Out of Twig!)

In late winter of 2017, I moved to DC for a new job. I moved in with my cousin (also one of my best friends), her now husband, and their three-legged rescue pup. I spent the summer exploring DC with them and hanging out with my new co-workers. Having been through a lot of change earlier that year, I felt so rejuvenated and free and had never felt more like myself. Eventually that summer, I was ready to start getting back into the dating scene, and started perusing the apps.

One day in July, I was on Hinge and saw a picture of Lee (my now fiancé) dancing at a wedding. I “liked” it, because I thought he was super handsome and love a guy who can be goofy and isn’t afraid to dance his ass off. 

We ended up “matching” and started chatting. He told me that if I could guess which city he’d been to in Ohio, he would take me out for a drink. I guessed wrong twice (it was randomly Toledo?), and yet, he still decided to take me out, haha. A few weeks after matching, we went on our first date at Silo in DC’s Chinatown neighborhood (where we took a lot of our engagement pictures!).

We had the best conversations and I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing. I felt so much like myself around him, I ended up telling him one of my most embarrassing stories like 15 minutes in. We discovered our mutual love for music and bonded over the fact that we both played violin and were trained in the Suzuki method (we often cheers to Shinichi Suzuki to this day, LOL).

The Saturday after our first date, we had two dates in one day. We went on a long bike ride, played frisbee in the park, and had beergaritas at Cantina Marina in southwest DC (no longer there, RIP).

We went home, showered up, and then later that night, went on a double date with my cousin and her now husband. I literally introduced him to my family on our second date, haha. It just felt so natural and easy with him, and we had the best time. 

We later found out that after our first date, we had both cancelled any other dates we had set up because we liked each other so much — and the rest is history!

The Engagement

In November of 2019, we started planning a trip to Southern California for the holidays, because that’s where a lot of my family is now. We decided we wanted to head west a few days early to check out Palm Springs. Lee asked if he could plan that part of the trip, so I wondered if maybe it could happen then, but I didn’t want to expect anything.

We’d had the marriage conversation that summer, and both knew that we wanted to get married in the near future, so I knew it wasn’t going to be one of those situations where I was completely blindsided. One thing I love about Lee is that he — like me — loves to plan things (we have dozens of spreadsheets between the two of us — we even had one for which mattress to buy, haha).

Once I saw the place he picked for us to stay, La Serena Villas (stay here, it is AMAZING), I knew that I should at least make sure I had my nails done in case, LOL. 

We got in the Sunday night before Christmas and were spending Monday and Tuesday in Palm Springs. Until the morning of, I had no idea what he had planned. He just told me to bring outdoor/hiking clothes, so if anything was going to happen, I was definitely expecting it to be mid-hike or something. He knew that I didn’t want some big production with photographers hiding or a big party after. I wanted it to be just us.

On Monday, he had planned a horseback ride through the mountains — something I had always wanted to do (I had never been on a horse before!). As fate would have it, it POURED all day Monday — it rarely rains in Palm Springs — and we had to push off the outdoor activities until Tuesday (don’t worry, I still got to ride a horse in the mountains). At that point, I sort of relaxed, thinking I didn’t have to suspect anything or try to look somewhat decent in case there was a proposal. 

We had the best day — we saw the movie Bombshell (so good), bar hopped, and ate tacos. When we got back to the hotel, he told me that he’d booked me a massage at the spa inside the hotel, and once I was back, we would shower up and head to sushi.

I was so thrilled to have some R&R, so I walked to the spa and had the most amazing massage. After it was over, I was in my raincoat, leggings, and tennis shoes, and was absolutely covered in lotion and oil. My makeup was smeared all over my face, and my hair was a greasy mess. I opened the door to our villa thinking I’d get in the shower, and walked in to find all the lights off and the entire thing covered in candles. Music was playing and Lee came in from our back porch, said the sweetest spiel, got on one knee, and asked me to marry him — to which I obviously replied YES! I was not expecting it to happen then at all, so I love that he still managed to surprise me.

We FaceTimed our friends and family, had lots of champagne, and continued celebrating at sushi.

As for the ring, he had asked my sister what I liked, then had his Aunt custom make it. I could not have imagined anything more perfect for me and I love that his Aunt made it. 

So there it is, our engagement story! We’re getting married this fall at a beautiful winery, and I can’t wait to celebrate with our family and friends.

I’ll leave you with this: If you’re skeptical about the dating apps or have had bad experiences, I get it, but don’t write them off just yet. Lee is better than anyone I could have ever imagined for myself — he is my best friend and I am so thrilled to be spending the rest of my life with him. 

P.S. Here is proof that I got to ride my horse! This was Christmas Eve morning, and it was one of the most surreal, beautiful experiences. My horse’s name was Spanky!