Our story together started like any other millennial at this time. But let's not get ahead of ourselves; every story has two sides, and these are ours.

Bailey's Story:

I was working nights at Essentia Health in Duluth and I hardly ever had a moment to myself to just sit, except this one night. It was a rather slow night in the heart of Covid and something in my mind was telling me to re-download Hinge and this feeling wouldn't go away so what else would a person do at 2 am than try a dating app for a second time? Well guess who is the first person to pop up but our sweet Philly. Now this might sound like love at first sight which in a way it was because just look at this sweet face, BUT he broke the cardinal rule ladies, and we all know what it is... He had a dead animal in his profile. So I contemplated for just a minute (might I add at this time I was a pretty strict vegetarian and hunting didn't appeal to my lifestyle). As I mentioned before I just had this feeling that I was supposed to be on this app and he must have been the reason. So there goes his picture, to the right. Within seconds we matched. Now you probably think aw this was the happily ever after...not quite. Did I mention that I was still in college working nights in Duluth MN, and Phillip was living in Grand Forks, ND? Yea didn't think so. So that morning when he woke up he had sent me a message on the app so we chatted like you normally do and ask all of the basic questions to get to know each other. During the start of our relationship, we weren't able to talk much being on opposite schedules so what do I do, I start only replying at 2 am (I know I'm mean). After a while he gets the nerve to ask me for my number and from here we start to have the typical texting relationship. Slowly getting comfortable with each other finally the time comes that we are either going to meet each other or we are going to give what we had up. So of course I had the wild idea that I was going to drive to Grand Forks. Not going to lie I think I freaked him out a little suggesting that! Instead, he kindly suggested that he will come to Duluth as a neutral territory. I agreed and I was anxiously waiting for this weekend to come. We met, walked around canal park, got Chilly Billy's and honestly had a very easy time meeting each other nothing about it was awkward. Then came the dreaded goodbye, not going to lie I was nervous about this because a part of me felt like the ball was in his court if he didn't have a good time he was going to get over it with the distance, it's not forever one and we knew that. Fast forward to a couple of months after clearly that didn't happen and we spent every spare day that we could together mainly with me ( being little nuts) and leaving my overnight shift and driving straight 4 hours to Grand Forks because I didn't want to waste any time that I could have been spending with him and doing the same when it was time to leave waiting until the very last moment till I have to leave to get back to Duluth just in the right amount of time to sleep and get to work on time. This worked for a couple of months until I had a difficult night at work and I knew I didn't want to be doing this anymore like this I didn't want to be apart anymore so once again I think I freaked him out a little when I texted him and said I'm moving to Grand forks I already applied to the hospital and I accepted the job. If we were going to do this we were going to do it right.

Fast forward to now looking back, we had a lot of crazy adventures together, planning a trip to Nashville after just a month or so of talking... we weren't even dating at the time I hit purchase on the flight (I must have just known) to me surprising him to a weekend getaway in Denver, our one year in Vegas, buying our first house together. It was truly a wild ride but I wouldn't change our story for anything.

Phillip's Story:

Living in Grand Forks, ND, I am asked all the time how I met Bailey since she was living in Duluth, MN. Well dating apps can be changed to your location, and one weekend visiting my parents in Duluth, I came across the picture of a redhead drinking a bottle of Boone's Farm. I liked the picture on Hinge and figured I would have a conversation starter since I too, love Boone's Farm.

I liked her picture on a Friday evening. Nothing happened right away but I wasn't too worried about it. I woke up around my usual time of 6:30 to take Jade outside and noticed a Hinge notification on my phone. It seemed a little weird that this notification came in sometime around 2:30 am. I opened the app and was happy to learn the "Boone's Farm Girl" named Bailey liked one of my pictures too so we could start messaging.

I thought my first conversation was going to be about Boone's Farm, but instead, I had to ask why she was using Hinge at 2:30 in the morning. She informed me she worked nights at Essentia Health as a phlebotomist. I'd be lying if I said we got off to a great start talking on Hinge. Since Bailey was working nights, she was sleeping most of the day when I was awake and able to talk. Instead, we could only exchange a few messages at a time in passing in the very early morning and later at night.

After a couple of weeks of this slow-developing back and forth, I finally gave her my number hoping it would be easier to communicate than messaging on Hinge. I finally got a text that read "Hey it's Bailey :)" and the rest they say is history. We would spend the next several weeks texting, calling, and FaceTiming whenever we could. Then it finally came time to meet in person. Bailey offered to drive to Grand Forks, but I thought it might be more comfortable to meet in Duluth instead. So I took a weekend off from fishing to head home and finally meet Bailey.

We tried to go to Cold Stone for our first date, but since we were in the middle of the pandemic, it was closed. We ended up at Chilly Billy's instead. The first date went so well, we ended up on a second date the day after, ordering takeout from Tavern on the Hill and watching Sons of Anarchy at her apartment.

I found myself thinking about Bailey all the way home that Sunday on my drive back to Grand Forks. Unfortunately, our next couple of weekends didn't work out to see each other. Bailey finally made her way to Grand Forks, where luckily the restaurants were open so I could take her on a proper date...to Buffalo Wild Wings, even though she was vegetarian at the time lol! But over that first summer, Bailey would drive to Grand Forks any time she had days or weekends off. We even booked a trip to Nashville after just a few months of knowing each other! But eventually, after months of talking, I finally asked Bailey to be my girlfriend in August 2020.

Bailey surprised me when she told me she was applying for jobs in Grand Forks, especially because she still had one semester of school left. But one day she called me and told me she accepted a job at the hospital in Grand Forks and was going to move out to Grand Forks ASAP.

Bailey got an apartment just a few blocks from my apartment, and we eventually started looking for a house to buy in Grand Forks...right in the middle of the craziest housing market! We finally got into our house in the middle of June 2021 and started living together.

Once the "living together" phase was complete, it was time to plan the engagement. I picked up a part-time job at Half Brother's Brewing in Grand Forks to save up for a ring. After a year of working and saving, I talked to my mom and dad after a family vacation in Walker, MN, and told them I had the money saved and wanted to start planning the big day. We were able to plan a time to go ring shopping in early August and I was able to pick up the ring at the end of August, both without her having any suspicion!

I then had to talk to Bailey's parents and get their blessing. We went to Wabasha for the annual Watermelon Fest in Kellogg in early September. I coordinated with Mateya, one of Bailey's bridesmaids, to occupy her while I would speak to Rob and Connie. We went to Slippery's Bar and I asked for their daughter's hand in marriage and received their blessing! The hardest part was trying to keep this huge secret for the next month.

I planned to pop the question in Duluth since that was the town where we met and had special meaning to both of us. So the easiest excuse I had to go to Duluth in the fall without her suspecting anything was to "go home for a birthday celebration" since both my sister Megan and I have birthdays in October one day apart. Coincidentally that weekend was the famous Apple Fest in Bayfield, Wisconsin, something Bailey has always wanted us to do.

So Saturday morning we hit the road to Bayfield. I knew I was getting a fiancé that day, but Bailey had no clue! I played it cool all day and we walked around for a couple of hours and we headed home. When we hit the road back, I suggested we stop at the beach area to get another look at the south shore of Lake Superior. It was a beautiful October day and I got down on a knee and asked Bailey to marry me!

We spent the car ride back to Duluth on the phone with family and friends telling them the good news. Bailey thought she was surprising everyone, but little did she know I told everyone what was going on that day. She had no idea her parents and brother Nolan were waiting for us at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth! After a quick celebratory drink, we met my family at Blackwoods so everyone could celebrate!

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