Andrew and Rachel met via one of the more standard 2022 methods - on a dating app. After chatting for a while, Andrew asked Rachel on a date, but due to scheduling conflicts, we almost canceled and never met. We finally found a night that would work and met for the first time at Pryes Brewing Company near Rachel's apartment in North Loop, Minneapolis. After a fun night bonding over great food, drinks, and guessing what strange occasion the large party next to us was meeting for, we decided to meet up again shortly after.

What followed was an abundance of fun dates, experiences, and trips together over the next year and a half! Some of these included trips to Duluth, Tampa, Arizona, San Antonio, Colorado, the North Shore, Door Country, South Dakota, and Chicago (Rachel is an excellent trip planner!). Andrew and Rachel also went to 30+ breweries together in 2023 thanks to the fun Hop Passport book!

On April 14th, 2024, during our second trip to Colorado together, we found ourselves on a nice date-day in Boulder. After walking through the downtown area, we rented e-bikes and biked up the Boulder Canyon trail. Rachel's love of mountain streams led us to stop by the stream along the trail, where Rachel promptly stepped into the stream (as she usually does). By random chance, another couple stopped in the same place shortly after, so it was there that Andrew asked them to take a picture of us while standing in the stream, before dropping down on one knee with the ring in his hand in front of Rachel's stunned face. We don't remember if Rachel actually said "yes" at that moment... we just remember that Rachel said "Please don't drop the ring in the water" repeatedly (he didn't). But alas, she must have said yes!

We are both very excited for our future together, with many, many more trips and brewery visits to come! Thanks for celebrating with us!!!