John Steitz's sisters played a major role in helping him find "The One." When they were students at Washington & Lee University, he joined his parents for visiting weekend and was introduced to their friend, Brooks Simmons. A few years later, his sister Laura's friend was hosting a St. Patrick's Day party in Washington, D.C. and invited both John and Brooks to join in the festivities. "As Laura tells it, he reintroduced himself to me, and we spent hours talking," Brooks says. "She even says that, later in the evening, I told both John and Laura that he and I should get married because their parents love me so much!" Brooks may have been onto something: After four years together, John proposed at her apartment, on their way to their favorite neighborhood bar in D.C. "He wanted to wait until we'd gotten to Bayou, but the ring was burning a hole in his pocket so we headed to the bar after I said 'yes!' to celebrate!" Brooks recalls.
