BRIAN ELLEN
6.6.2014
Sioux Falls, SD
Our Story...
His Story
At the beginning of 2011, Capers, a popular student variety type show put on by my honorary fraternity Alpha Psi Omega, had just begun. As any single guy involved with Capers could tell you, Capers is a great place to meet girls. It didn’t take long at all for me to single out Ellen in a group of roughly 150 people. I knew she was a girl I could only dream of meeting. After the show opened, a bunch of Capers kids had decided to get together to relax and celebrate a good run of the show so far. Knowing Ellen would probably be there, I decided to go. I also convinced my roommate Brandon to come along. After I pointed out where Ellen was standing, he immediately walked right over there. Once I got enough courage to talk to her we talked the rest of the night. A few days later I asked her out on a date, which turned out to be the best decision of my life.
Her Story
I remember the very first time I ever saw Bip. It was the end of the second day of Capers dance weekend during my sophomore year of college at SDSU. As my friends Emily and Megan and I sat with the rest of the cast in the chairs of Doner Auditorium waiting for the “Cheese Awards” to begin, we got the feeling that something was about to happen on stage. The members of APO, the honorary theater fraternity on campus and the organization that creates Capers, perform an entertaining number each year at the “Cheese Awards,” but since this was our first year in Capers we had no idea what to expect. Suddenly a rope dropped from the ceiling onto the stage. To our surprise, an absolutely adorable guy quickly followed, repelling to the stage to start off the dance number. Honestly, my mind is a little fuzzy when it comes to the rest of the details after that, but I clearly remember how surprised I was! I turned to Emily and Megan and said, “Who is that?” We were all very curious about this mysterious guy who everyone called Bip. I would never have guessed in that moment that, two and a half years later, I would be calling this amazing guy my fiancé.
I had seen him for the first time, but I still hadn’t met my future husband. Two weeks later at a Capers gathering, I met Brian Schulte. He and his friend Brandon approached the group I was standing with to start up some conversation. I promptly turned around and said, “Hi! I’m Ellen! You’re Bip!” We started talking and getting to know each other.
I immediately knew that he was a truly special person. At one point, I told him that we were going to best friends, but, of course, I secretly hoped that we could be more than that. I went home that night and added Brian on Face Book. After that, we started talking, and it didn’t take long for me to know that I really liked him a lot. Prior to our first date, Brian asked me what my favorite food was. I ever so honestly responded, “Cheese.” I was delighted when I arrived at his apartment for our date to find him cooking some of the cheesiest pasta I had ever had. We talked for hours and watched The Onion Movie. From then on, we were pretty inseparable. The week of Valentine’s Day approached, and I was busy hoping that Brian would take me out on a date. A few days before, he asked me if I had any plans. I told him that I didn’t, and he informed me that I did now. I arrived at his apartment, unaware of where we would be going for our date. I was so excited, but as we walked toward the door, Brian stopped me and said that we had one problem. I asked him what that might be, and his exact words were, “I don’t usually take my best friends to dinner on Valentine’s Day.” I knew he was asking me to be his girlfriend, but I told him that he had to officially ask. He did, and I was overjoyed. He surprised me with a dinner at Bravo’s, and we have been together ever since. I knew that I was lucky then, and since I have only continued to realize how true that really is.