Two UC Davis graduate students turned a springtime campus tradition into an unforgettable marriage proposal. On a bright and sunny April afternoon, the UC Davis Sheepmowers were grazing on top of the grassy mounds near the Silo. But one sheep stood out. It was wearing a special jacket with a very important question: “Wool ewe marry me?”

In the middle of the herd, Dylan Moore got down on one knee and asked her girlfriend, Lauren Mabe, to marry her.

“I wanted the proposal to be really personal and specific to our story,” Moore said.

Moore and Mabe, both Ph.D. candidates with the Geography Graduate Group, have been dating since 2022. One of their first dates was at a sheepmowers event, and they’ve been returning to watch the sheep graze on campus ever since.

“Our second or third date was, ‘Hey, let's meet at the sheep and have lunch,’ and then that's just kind of been a constant throughout our relationship, hanging out with the sheep,” Mabe said.

Through the years, the couple has grown fond of the fluffy animals, coming up with sheep puns, like when they named their triathlon relay team “Fleece Lightning.”

“When we weren't living together and we would text each other good night, instead of saying sleep tight, we’d say, ‘Sheep tight,’” Moore said.

Proposal: Take One

Their love story has another engagement chapter. Both women wanted to propose, so earlier, Mabe also popped the question at another special campus location.

“Dylan likes doing scavenger hunts; she's always the organizer of scavenger hunts for our friends, so I organized one for her,” Mabe explained.

Mabe left clues for Moore leading her to some of their favorite places around Davis, including their go-to place for banh mi, Pho King. Other stops included Dunloe Brewing and the popular burger spot, Froggy’s. The last stop was a special surprise.

“The whole scavenger hunt ended at Hunt Hall, where I then proposed,” Mabe said. “Partially because Hunt Hall is so beautiful and such a beautiful part of campus, but also that is where we met.”

From Hunt Hall to the grazing sheepmowers, the couple’s engagement memories are sure to last a lifetime. Associate Professor Haven Kiers, who leads the sheepmowers research project and helped Moore pull off her proposal last month, was excited by how these campus spots had become such a meaningful part of their story.

“How absolutely incredible that the campus landscape played such an important role in their lives and relationship, that they chose to propose marriage to each other in these locations that so clearly represent UC Davis,” said Kiers.

The couple plans to exchange vows next May. And they’re not ruling out the possibility of having a sheep join them on their big day.

“We have heard Haven joke about a ‘best lamb,’” Moore said. “If we could have a lamb at the ceremony, we wouldn't say no.”