Jake and I met on a dating app in November 2021, exchanging life stories and random facts about ourselves via text before we met in person at Lost Friend Brewery in Colorado Springs. We were both new to town at that point, and while I don’t distinctly remember thinking, “this is 100% my husband,” Jake’s wit and joy was apparent from the start.

Little did we know we’d spend the next year or so dating and figuring out our best-soft-pretzel-in-town ratings, making new friends together, creating a Sunday morning routine of cooking breakfast then going to church, and finding the best park to take Jake’s new puppy to.

After a few dates, we realized fairly early on that we liked each other quite a lot. We spent our first few months of dating realizing just how competitive we both are (cue our 2 seasons in a Cornhole league), the amount of adventure and “let’s try something new” we both enjoy, and how much fun we have doing what the other person loves. Jake spent lots of time outside hiking, while I spent- a more confusing time- figuring out what it takes to 3D print or bake something from scratch. We were quickly on the road to becoming each other’s best friends and biggest supporters.

Fast forward a good few months and I made my way to see Jake’s beach hometown in California, while Jake took his first trip to my hometown in Alabama in the blazing heat of the summer (I call that true love). We spent a lot of time talking about our lives in separate states, which slowly turned into talking about our future together in the same state.