ComFest is an annual music and arts festival held at Goodale Park in Columbus. Billed as the “Party with a Purpose,” in the Summer of 2011 this event had a new purpose: to bring together star-crossed lovers Kari and Scott. (They met — where else? — in front of a beer tent.)

Scott returned to Washington, D.C., but he and Kari kept in touch, and their phone calls soon grew lengthier and more frequent. Their first date whitewater rafting in West Virginia was a success; subsequent visits to D.C., Columbus and San Francisco were equally awesome. A long-distance relationship proved to be short-lived: By November, Scott had found a new job in Columbus and moved back home to Ohio.

And so we skip ahead to September 28, 2012 (exactly one year prior to the day of their wedding). Scott and Kari went on a romantic date at the Park of Roses in the Clintonville neighborhood where they both live. Following a lovely home-cooked picnic, Scott removed one more surprise from his coat: a diamond ring that had once belonged to his great grandmother. He asked Kari to marry him and, shocked but ecstatic, she said yes.

Finally, crossing his fingers that things would go well, Scott had made late-night reservations at a fancy restaurant downtown to celebrate the momentous occasion with champagne and dessert. Things went off without a hitch. It was … perfect.

The happy couple told their families the next day, and the celebrating began.