OUR STORY - AS TOLD BY JARED

It was a warm, beautiful September evening when a determined Buckeye made the drive up Hwy 23 across state lines to meet someone he knew would be special. After a few weeks after matching on Jswipe, a dating app, and texting back and forth, it was finally time for the first date. The setting was Bill's Beer Garden, a bustling outdoor space in downtown Ann Arbor. After trying a few beers and chatting about everything from how our hopeless favorite baseball teams were having a surprising good year to the fact that we had the same make, model, and year car (2007 Hyundai Santa Fe!) a bond was forged that felt natural and "meant to be". After a few hours on the patio, they walked around the town.

Soon after that first date there was a second and third and many more to come. Alana would drive to Toledo to visit Jared and vice versa--that stretch of highway between Ann Arbor and Toledo sure became familiar territory quickly. And despite the distance, Jared and Alana knew they had found something special and that the best was yet to come. And even when their favorite baseball teams managed to face off in a nail-biter of a World Series, they somehow managed to set their allegiances aside and support each other.

Pretty soon Jared was going to Chicago to meet Alana's family and Alana would be off to Denver to meet Jared's. Fast forward two years and Alana moved to Cincinnati for her first real job and what was a 45 minute distance apart became three hours. Cincinnati became a fun new city for the two of them explore and with that same mantra in mind, the best was yet to come, they made the distance work. Nine months after Alana moved to Cincinnati, they found out the best possible news--Jared had matched for residency to his favorite program which also happened to be in the same city! They finally would be together.

After finally living in the same city and going through the new changes that come with it, their love and connection grew stronger.

On March 12th 2021, Jared had the perfect ring and was ready to ask Alana to marry him and be his life partner. With a big engagement celebration out of the question during the pandemic, Jared wanted to pop the question in a way that would still be memorable. As Alana is an avid reader, Jared worked with a local book scavenger hunt planner to hide a book in their backyard and had her post the hidden book on Instagram. Once Alana's friend texted her that a book was hidden in the neighborhood, she ran out to find it. Hidden in the book was a bookmark telling Alana there was another book hiding back inside. When Alana went back inside, Jared was waiting on bended knee with the ring hidden inside a book-shaped box. And moments later Alana's brother and cousin arrived for a surprise celebration.

And now they look forward to celebrating with you one year later in March of 2022. The best is yet to come!

A&J