In this day and age, you can find a bargain on almost anything online, even a wife! Well, Carlie wasn’t exactly the mail order type of bride you are thinking of, she is in fact far superior. That said we did in fact meet online, via Hinge — the dating app designed to be deleted. Turns out whistling at a woman on the street just isn’t the start of many romantic love stories these days. But let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good story.

It was just after I moved to the big city of KCMO in January 2023, 1 week to be exact. There she was, my future wife in a gorgeous flowing sundress, backed by a golden field with blue skies. Her wavy brown hair was blowing gently in the warm breeze showcasing the most beautiful blue eyes — all perfectly depicted on the high resolution screen of my iPhone. I liked her profile and waited, and to my surprise she liked me back! Or liked my carefully curated dating profile at least.

We hit it off immediately, chatting about our faith, our families, and future plans. Carlie and I agreed on almost everything, except the number of goats on our make-believe future acreage. I couldn’t wait to ruin all these perfect first impressions, so I persisted in asking for a date. After nearly two weeks of asking, I started to question whether I really was the ‘handsomest young man’ the church ladies kept telling me I was. But determination was on my side, and Carlie finally broke down and accepted my dinner offer.

We agreed on Hoof n Horn steakhouse in St. Joseph, MO. It was February 15, 2023, the day after Valentine’s Day, because a first date on Valentine’s Day would be weird, right? I was so nervous that I got ready early, a rare occurrence. As I sat warming my truck, I began to feel guilty. How could I make Carlie wait another whole year to have the chance to get Valentine’s candy from a hunk like me? I took off for Walmart, dreaming of all the day-after deals. Aha! At perfect eye-level on the shelf end cap was Carlie’s favorite candy, M&Ms. I grabbed a bag and began to leave when that old saying of ‘day late and a dollar short’ crept in. Better get two.

I don’t remember much about the first date, lucky for me the anxiety took hold and piloted me toward success. Before we parted ways at the end of the night I remembered the two comically large bags of M&Ms. I rushed over and told Carlie I didn’t want to wait until next year to give her Valentine’s candy. I handed them over, parted with a hug, and just like that, I had her heart. I later learned that she had texted a picture of it to a friend saying “I’m going to marry this man”. My acts of genius astound even myself.

By March 5th we made it official, on a long riverside walk in English Park (foreshadowing). It wasn’t long before talks of marriage were common between us. I initially held out, saying I probably wanted to wait until my 30’s, which only bought me a few months in the negotiations. The same way my persistence led to our first date, her persistence rather quickly convinced me to stop wasting time.

A fancy date that fall, followed by ‘looking’ at rings quickly led to a deposit. But it still took me until April 21st, 2024 to perfect the proposal. A picnic in the park after church (remember English Landing?), with a big shiny ring in her face on a beautiful afternoon. It sounded perfect, it was perfect. Besides of course the giant sharp-cornered ring box hiding in my long, tight socks for hours. They say you can’t remember pain, but I’m glad I only have to do that once. How she didn’t see the perfect impression under my dress pants is absolutely baffling. I was so nervous I honestly don’t remember if she said yes. But I shoved the ring on and she hasn’t taken it off since, so I’m counting it.

And so, from that first bag of M&Ms (and the second), to the hundreds of memories we’ve made together since, the ones we await with the most anticipation are the ones we will get to share with all of those closest to us on May 3rd, 2025.

C&K

The Reception