Bailey was a kindergarten teacher in a suburb of Boston, and Griffen was a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and living in Cambridge. There was a very slim chance of them meeting each other organically, but online dating made it possible.

They first met for dinner at a Pho restaurant on August 30, 2022. Bailey's first impression of a nervous Griffen rattling off details about his latest projects in his chemistry lab made her think: "Wow, he's smart."

Not too long into the conversation Griffen began talking about his hobby of making hot sauces, and how he had started a new venture in making ketchup. By the end of their first date he asked her, "Would you like my first bottle on our next date?" Bailey thought this was an endearing way to ask for a second date. She said yes, and the rest is history.

Just shy of seven months knowing each other, Griffen proposed to Bailey by the Charles River the night of March 17, 2023. He made sure she was standing in the right spot so when he got down on one knee she would see the beautiful lit-up Boston skyline behind him. Needless to say, she said yes.

You may be thinking, six months doesn't sound like a long time to know each other, but Bailey and Griffen know they were made for each other.

In July of 2023, Bailey and Griffen packed up their Honda until it burst, said goodbye to Boston and their friends, and drove to Grand Rapids, Michigan with their cat, Tabitha, to start a brand new life together.

Griffen is now a successful chemist and Bailey is again a kindergarten teacher in a new school district. Tabitha now has a younger adopted sister: a dog named Beatrix.

They couldn't be happier, and they are excited to celebrate their new lives with you at their wedding in June!