There is some controversy around the exact date of when Steven and Claudia met. Steven believes it was in high school, but Claudia is certain she remembers him from middle school. Regardless of the exact date, it was a LONG time ago! After high school, they both attended Georgia College & State University where their friendship blossomed into something more. Although it wasn't until their senior year at GCSU that they began officially dating!

Shortly before moving in together, Steven went ring shopping. Unbeknownst to Claudia who was, at the same time, drafting her 2019 Fantasy Football team and NEEDED her "GM" to be readily available. Little did she know that the reason he was ignoring the (many) calls and texts was because he was in fact shopping for an engagement ring.

Fast forward a couple of months, after a blessing from Claudia's mom, and chats with all of her brothers, when Steven found the perfect opportunity for his proposal. Steven knew for a while how he wanted to do it, but he needed to find the right moment to not spoil the surprise. Both him and Claudia had traveled to Napa together and most recently to Sonoma County, and he knew those memories (and the wine) held a special place in their hearts. Steven planned a trip to the Dahlonega wineries along with both of their families, and somehow was able to fool Claudia into thinking it was all her idea.

After lots of coordinating (on Steven's part) between the two families and the winery, Steven was able to pull off the best surprise ever! He told Claudia they would be grabbing lunch together somewhere in Dahlonega and then meeting their families to go winery hopping around town. They pulled up to Monteluce for lunch and were directed by the hostess to a "special" location outside and pointed to a picnic set up overlooking their vineyards. Instantly Claudia knew something was up and the rest is a bit of a blur.

On the walk down to the picnic, Steven started his sweet and well-rehearsed speech, of which neither of them remember, and then proceeded to get on one knee. Claudia immediately said yes, but what happened next was the most surprising part of it all.

After Claudia said yes, Steven raised his arms in celebration while cheers and shouts were heard from the restaurant behind them. It was both of their families cheering from the balcony!! Claudia was so overwhelmed with emotion, lots of hugs and photos followed. They attempted to carry on with their picnic, but quickly joined the rest of the family and shared a nice meal together in a private room at the winery. The rest of the evening was followed by laughter, tears and lots of phone calls to friends and family.