Here is "Our Story" told by each of us individually with no prior knowledge of what the other person was writing. Settle in with some popcorn because they are a little lengthy!

Her Story:

Picture This: I was likely lounging on my couch snuggled up with my adorable doodle Francine watching some House Hunters when a picture of a guy on a boat popped up with his dog that looked like a giant version of Francine. He had commented on a picture of me on a boat with Francine and another dog and said something along the lines of, “Cute dogs! What are their names?” Upon further scrolling, I determined that this guy liked dogs and he liked the lake… therefore, checking all of my boxes. 😉 Obviously, I was willing to give it a shot, and we started messaging each other through the app. I think I was being kind of bold and gutsy back then so I gave him my phone number, and “Cory the Lake Guy” and I started texting. We texted back and forth for about a week and then he asked me out on a date, his exact words being “grab a drink or something.”

Now Picture This: Cory and I met on Wednesday night at Ted’s Beerhall (RIP). I didn’t even bother to redo my hair or makeup after working all day teaching Kindergarten so I can’t imagine I was looking like a stunning goddess! He was waiting for me in the parking lot at Ted’s when I arrived, which was a kind gesture because nothing worse than scouring a bar for someone you have only seen photos of online! We headed in, were seated, and ordered our drinks. Note: He had originally asked if I wanted to grab a drink, so I didn’t think that included ordering food. Then, all of a sudden, he’s ordering food and I’m totally clamming! And that’s how I ended up ordering plain chicken tenders without any sauce or sides… The conversation flowed easily, but what sticks out to me most is that he said his sister had a baby that day, but he didn’t want to cancel the date to go see her and the new baby! We wrapped up dinner and he walked me to my car which was incredibly unnecessary in a parking lot of that size but was very much appreciated. To be honest, I thought our story was going to end there. I hadn’t felt the spark and I may or may not have had a date with someone else the next day.

Picture This: Cory keeps texting me for a few more days, and he was just being too nice I never got the chance to break it off! Our next date gets scheduled and we planned to walk our dogs at Franke Park on a Thursday evening. At this point, I decided to give him one more shot. Plus, this time I would be bringing Francine (my insane doodle), and she is the harshest judge of character around. Francine immediately loved him and was jumping all over him eager for pets and love. If you know Francine, you know she can be a little picky! He had also brought me a bouquet of flowers and a bag of treats for Francine. We walked through the trails, and I’m sure I talked his ear off about all kinds of random topics. As we headed back to our cars, he said “Hold on, I have something in my truck.” Alarm bells go off in my head, this is how it ends. Me alone in a park with a guy I barely know and he “has something in the truck.” Plot twist, he pulls out a cooler full of popsicles and Gatorades both in various flavors because he didn’t know what my favorite flavor was. At this point, my heart was melting with his thoughtfulness and kindness. We were hanging out by his truck for awhile chatting and enjoying our popsicles when I hear a small voice yelling “Miss Anderson! Miss Anderson! That’s Miss Anderson!” Yep, you are correct. One of my students crashed my date, and that student never let the other kids forget that he got to meet Francine, Grizz, and Miss Anderson’s “friend.”

And finally, picture this: I’m driving back to my house calling anyone who will answer to tell them how kind, thoughtful, and sweet this Cory the Lake Guy was and how I think I do like him after all. And the rest is history, Cory is still the kindest, most thoughtful, caring person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, loving, and soon marrying. Cory is an answer to my deepest prayer, and I am so thankful he won me over with a Freeze Pop.

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His Story:

April 2023: I finally get a chance to sit down and admire my handy work after completely renovating the kitchen in my house. As I am sitting there, I decide to take my phone out and see if I can accomplish the much more difficult task of finding a person to share my life with on the ever so popular dating apps of today. After some time a profile with the name Alison catches my eye. Two things immediately drew my attention to her. First, was the pictures with dogs, and the second was the lake pictures, so I sent her a message saying her dogs were super cute and asking if they liked the lake. Lucky for me she responded and we started sending messages to each other back and forth pretty regularly. After about a week or so I asked if she wanted to meet in person for a drink or something (later learned I should have also clarified food).

Our first date was Wednesday May 3rd 2023, a date that is not only special because I met Ali, but also because my niece Miller was born earlier that morning. Now Miller was a tad early so no one was really expecting her to arrive so soon. Due to her early arrival, I was not sure if I should cancel my date or not, but I was afraid if I cancel on her now I wasn’t going to get another chance. I ended up deciding to visit the hospital the following day on Thursday. With my evening clear I could now get ready for my date. We decided to meet at Ted’s Beerhall (RIP). We both got a drink and some food, which like I said above should have been clarified as it threw her off apparently. We instantly bonded over our mutual love of dogs, going to the lake, and all things diy. While I don’t remember everything we talked about, I do remember one conversation that we had was about how Fort Wayne is a small town dressed up like a big city. We both agreed that in Fort Wayne you are only about two degrees of separation away from knowing someone, little did we know this was true even for us strangers. Eventually we finished our meals and the date wound down and we decided to go. I made sure she got to her car safe and sound before getting in mine and driving home. I remember thinking that while a bit awkward at times, like all first dates, overall it went well and she was very easy to talk to and I would like to go on another date.

I’m not sure if it was the next day we made the plans, but by the next week we were on our second date. This time we decided to each bring our sidekicks, Francine and Grizz. We decided to go on a walk at Franke Park with the dogs, something that would become a pretty regular occurrence. Before the walk I decided to bring a couple of surprises with me. My first surprise was flowers for Ali, and some pupperoni for Francine. Both of which were a big hit. It was very evident that Ali and Francine were pros at going on walks while Grizz and I really dragged down their pace. Nonetheless, we persisted through and kept up, all the while having more time to get to know each other. It was about midway through our walk when Ali asked if I knew or was related to Delaney Sank. I told her that is my cousin, and asked how she knew her. In true Fort Wayne fashion it turns out that her mom is friends with my aunt. It’s almost scary how accurate our conversion was from the first date when applied to us, especially since that is not the only random connection we have through different people. After we laugh at ourselves for not seeing something like this coming we eventually end up back at our cars, for my last surprise. Since it was the middle of May and fairly hot out I decided to bring some water for us and the pups along with some popsicles for us. My thought was there's no way you can go wrong with popsicles. After enjoying our popsicles and getting a surprise visit from one of Ali’s students for the year it was time to head our separate ways. I remember giving her a hug goodbye and it just felt right and like someone I don't want to let go of.

From then on we had a lot more dog walking dates and started to see each other much more frequently. We both eventually got introduced to the other's family. We started hanging out at the lake and seeing that we were very similar people. My favorite example is when we took what were thought were perfectly good skis out of someone's trash at the lake to sell. We were so confused why someone would throw them away. We both completely missed the bindings had been ripped off…we still made $40 though. There's more instances of us having the same thought process, but I think that is part of what makes this so great. We are similar in many ways but also compliment each other's differences. I could not be happier with the way everything has worked out, and I look forward to taking on whatever life throws our way.

A&C

Cory and Alison's Wedding

Reception