How We Met

Her Story

One Friday night, I ventured out with my two close friends Colby and MIchelle. We obviously had some pep-in-our-step, because we were unfazed by paying cover to dance all night, which was very unusual.

After some scary experiences at other bump-n-grind dance clubs, we were still determined to stay out all night, so we decided on going to a cheesy 80's club called Polyesters. We knew that the scenario wouldn't be much different, but at least the music was decent. As we were shakin it on the retro lighted dance floor, and dodging all of the creepy middle aged men, I noticed a tall handsome spiky haired man making a fool of himself doing the kid-n-play with his friend in the corner.

After a few drinks, and feeling a little overconfident, I consulted my friend Colby about the spiky haired boy dancing, (as I've always had a soft spot for goof-balls). She said "I like the spikes" and bought me a shot. That was all the convincing I needed, so I made it my mission to kiss the cute spiky-haired-goof-ball by the end of the nght. So I got my groove on and went out to claim my victim for the night. Little did I know that Alex was going to be the sweetest, most courteous man out there. It also helped that he could dance. Before I knew it, we were having a great time dancing (imitating some of the worst dances). As the night came to a close, and I looked back at Colby and Michelle who were shooting me looks "help us" while they were playing "dodge the drunk man" on the dance floor. I decided to call it a night and save my friends.

I turned to tell Alex that I was going to leave, hoping that he'd ask for my number. When he asked, my heart jumped and with a drunk hand, I wrote down every number he could call including the two jobs I had at the time.

After an awesome first date, and despite the fact that I kept traveling and leaving Alex behind for weeks at a time, we have been together ever since. So ladies, never under estimate the magic of the most cheesy 80's dance club out there! You never know what spiky-haired-goof-ball you may run into.

His Story

It was July 6, 2001. Another Friday night in Downtown Austin and me and Johnnie had just decided to hit Polly Esthers, where we usually ended up after midnight... about the hour when it seemed like a perfectly good idea to head out to the back patio of the club and sing some karaoke. Maybe some John Cougar Mellencamp or Neil Diamond if it's a solo, but tonight it was Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison," our calling card if it's time to bring the house down with a duet and some smooth motownphilly grooves.

After our audible assault on the patio, we headed inside to the dancefloor to check out the scene. The thing about Polly Esthers is, it's not an ideal place to bring a date. On any given night you've got three bachelorette parties in complete disarray, bouncers named "Freedom" wearing Amercian flag bandanas, and dudes like me and Johnnie up on a platform immitating the Kid n' Play kick-step. This is the scene. So it was quite to my suprise when this particular evening, a tall, attractive blonde seemed to be taking interest in my antics. After a few smiles, she confidently walked up, put out her hand and I pulled her in for a dance. And another. The 80s, the Disco, the Electronic music... we seemed to have gone on for an hour. And a kiss! I was impressed.

By this time, Karie's friends were begging to get the hell out of the place. And I couldn't find Johnnie. I'd been so into our dancing that I'd just now remembered him telling me something about being outside getting a hot dog, and that was a half hour ago.

I definitely wanted to see Karie again, and girls like this didn't come into Polly Esther's every evening. I asked Karie for her number and she gave me three...wow, this is a girl that's well connected!

The Proposal

October 1, 2005

Karie surprised Alex with his college roommates for his 30th birthday. Alex surprised Karie with an engagement ring at his 30th birthday party. He sang "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson, and proposed in front of all of their friends.