Photo illustration by Molly Tumanic

It seems that around this time of year every where you go people are talking about having gotten engaged or planning weddings. Every couple has a story about the big moment. Three couples at UW-Eau Claire are sharing their moments.

Forever Friends
When they met in kindergarten, they never thought they would end up together.

They didn’t even predict that when he asked her to the junior prom they would one day be engaged to be married.

After hanging out together and going out on a few dates, Janell Larson and Michael Armstrong, both UW-Eau Claire juniors, became best friends, Larson said.

“We became attached at the hip,” Larson said about their first date, during which theywatched a movie at Armstrong’s house.

The couple dated throughout the rest of high school and ended up both getting accepted to Eau Claire.

They both already had considered attending Eau Claire because the school offered art for Larson and business and marketing for Armstrong.

Since then, the two have had memorable times with one another.

For Armstrong’s 20th birthday, Larson took him to Milwaukee for a Brewer’s game.

“Every time with him is memorable,” she said.

Armstrong will never forget their first Valentine’s Day together, he said.

“We made an Italian dinner together and got ourselves all dressed up … it was perfect.”

Armstrong decided to make another ordinary day more memorable on Aug. 17 when he asked Larson to marry him.

After a day of shopping at the Mall of America, the couple settled down at Armstrong’s parent’s house in Prescott with a nice view overlooking the St. Croix River

That is where Armstrong got down on one knee, “said something sweet” and proposed, Larson said.

Armstrong did not ask Larson without consulting and getting permission from her dad first.

“It’s the honorable thing to do,” Armstrong said.

Larson and Armstrong have set a wedding date for Aug. 2.

Both of them still have a year-and-a-half left in school, and they have picked out their apartment for next year.

“Engagement has brought us so close,” Larson said. “I can’t imagine how much closer marriage will bring us.”

Dueling Journalists
She gave him her phone number on an old bank slip at a going-away party for a co-worker, and now they are engaged.

This, however, is an engagement story that could have never happened.

After Alex Redmann, a part-time senior at Eau Claire, got home from the party he realized he had lost now-senior Lisa Klinkner’s number.

Instead of going straight to bed, Redmann drove back to the parking lot of Houligan’s, 415 S. Barstow, and found the number that had fallen out of his pocket.

“I called her two days later, following the rule of waiting two days,” Redmann said.

Their first date together was in a two-part segment, Klinkner said. They had burgers for lunch at Mogie’s and met up later after Redmann returned from work.

“The first date went surprisingly well,” Redmann said. “We just clicked and never had a quiet moment.”

Besides just clicking, the couple also has a lot in common. Both are broadcast journalism majors, which also creates some competition between them.

Klinkner works full-time for WQOW-18, while Redmann works full-time for WEAU-13.

Although they work at competing television stations, it hasn’t stopped them from growing closer and getting engaged.

Like their first date story, their engagement story also has two parts, Klinkner said.

Even though Klinkner knew Redmann had bought an engagement ring, she had no idea when he was going to propose, she said.

The couple was running late for a wedding of one of Redmann’s friends in Minnesota, but Redmann wanted to propose that day before they would see his parents.

He made them stop at the mall so he could pick up the ring, and he proposed right there in the car, Klinkner said.

He later proposed again on a footbridge on Clairemont Avenue when they got back from the wedding, Redmann said.

Although Redmann is from Anoka, Minn., and Klinkner is from Appleton, the couple has decided to get married in Eau Claire — their present home.

They are getting married in a park in October.

Prince Charming
It started out as a prom date, but lasted much longer than a typical high school dance.

Eau Claire seniors Scott Rentmeester and Amanda Speaker decided to go to their junior prom together, but they didn’t predict they would someday be engaged.

Before going to prom together, the two went out a few times to get to know each other better, Speaker said.

For their first date, they went to the movie ‘Grease.’

“I remember that Scott held the popcorn,” Speaker said. “I don’t think he watched a minute of the movie, because he was always watching for me to grab some popcorn.”

Both agree that junior prom was their most memorable date.

“Seeing Amanda all dressed up … will always be remembered,” Rentmeester said. “She looked gorgeous.”

Rentmeester was the perfect gentleman and date that night, Speaker said.

“He treated me like a princess, paid for my dinner and danced all night long,” she said.

Not only has the couple shared many special memories over the last five years together, they also share a belief and love for God.

“Without the Lord in our relationship, we most likely would not be where we are today in our relationship,” Rentmeester said.

Rentmeester prayed about marrying Speaker and decided that he should ask her to be his wife, he said.

Rentmeester made sure to ask her parents for permission. Speaker loves the fact that he did, she said.

He proceeded to make the engagement a big surprise on May 23, when he had her friend take her to a movie.

Speaker came home to various note cards with the words ‘will,’ ‘you,’ ‘marry’ and ‘me’ taped on doorknobs throughout her house. When she opened the last door, she found Rentmeester dressed in a suit and holding a bouquet of lilacs – her favorite flowers.

Rentmeester read her a poem and asked her to marry him.

“I don’t think I ever said ‘yes,’ but my arms thrown around him gave him a good indication that I had agreed,” Speaker said. “It was an unforgettable proposal.”

The couple plans to get married in their hometown of Green Bay on Jan. 24 — a month after they graduate.