If you ask Brian: In a late night scrolling of online dating, I stumbled upon the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Photos of adventure, travel, family, and love littered her profile; but what really caught my eye was the radiance of her smile at the top of an Adirondack high peak. I was compelled to reach out and get to know her, so I commented on the photo with a cool, "That's a great picture. What mountain is that taken from?" From there it was nothing but great conversation with an intelligent and beautiful woman. I was blown away by her use of semicolons and perfect punctuation as we messaged back and forth.

After a week or so of chatting online, I just had to meet her. In true Alli fashion, she was 15 minutes late (the restaurant was 5 miles from her house), but the wait was well worth it because when she walked through the door my breath was taken away, and when asked if I was Brian, all I could do was smile and nod. A smile as wide and persistent as the Grand Canyon.

Our first date, we sat in a quiet little table towards the back, beautifully decorated in holiday decor, but nothing could compare to her radiance. The conversation followed the natural course of schools we attended, places we've traveled to, and our families. However, when the conversation took an unexpected turn to the topic of fishing, that's when I knew she was the woman for me. She described her family camp and how she fishes for bowfin; as someone who has dedicated my life to the education and research of fish within fresh water systems, I was skeptical but completely intrigued. We then went into a long discussion of what these prehistoric fish look like, their prey, how to fish for them, and what to do once caught; when she showed a photo of her with one, I was completely enamored and knew that I never wanted to stop getting to know this incredible woman.

I went home that night feeling myself beginning the tumble of falling in love; little did I know that this would snowball into the greatest love story that I would ever experience.

If you ask Alli: Brian’s lack of social media presence presented a challenge to verifying his credentials in the era of Googling people online before you first meet. So like a cautious single mother, I was maybe a bit nervous when Brian asked me on a date, but also extremely intrigued for the opportunity to meet Brian.

After showing up causally late to let him sweat it out a little bit, my breath was instantly taken away when I saw my handsome guy and his striking blue eyes, deep as the Atlantic Ocean. After the best first date of my life, I could not wait to spill the beans to my parents and sister on just how amazing it felt to meet such a wonderful guy. Brian was so interesting, generous, funny, and kind, he even bought a pizza as our first date closed to take home at my family’s request.

The connections we shared that night eased my nerves and filled my heart with excitement and love. Fast forward to warmer months, I treasure the adventures we’ve shared and continue to fall in love with him each and every day: from epic hikes to the 2nd tallest peak in the Adirondacks through an inch of rain, to seeing Brian break out if his comfort zone and show off his dance moves as we grooved together at an apple orchard to Noah Kahan. The love, laughter, and dreams we share, make each day just that much better knowing we get to continue our amazing journey of love together.

*Brian wrote "If you ask Alli" and Alli wrote "If you ask Brian"

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