Carly and Ian met in late July of 2017 in Ames, Iowa, just as Ian was settling in to living in Iowa and Carly was moving to Des Moines. They met on popular dating app Bumble (sorry, parents!), with Ian sharing that he was looking for a wedding date for the year. Carly being Carly, obviously sent him a cover letter, outlining her best qualities as a wedding date.

On her last night of living in Ames, the two agreed to meet up. Before their first date, Carly told Ian they should just grab drinks, rather than dinner, “so that he didn’t have to watch her eat if they hated each other.” The drinks turned into dinner, a second location and a walk around campus. And the rest is history.

The two knew they’d met their match early in the relationship, bonding over SpongeBob quotes, a love of dogs and frequently making each other laugh by replacing the lyrics to popular songs. Ian attended Carly’s sister Hanna’s wedding a mere three months after they met, and Hanna said that “Ian is the Holly Flax to Carly’s Michael Scott.”

They signed a lease together a mere six months after meeting, moving in together on their one year anniversary and adopting their dog, Potosi, just two months later. And since then, they’ve enjoyed cooking together, trips to the dog park, DIYing projects and exploring new places.

It came as no surprise to their loved ones when the two “got the bug” to move out of the Midwest for awhile. They celebrated their second anniversary via Zoom, Ian living in Oregon and Carly wrapping up her master’s degree in Iowa. Carly joined Ian in Oregon in 2020, in a one bedroom apartment shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Both can still be heard saying “if we can get through three months of quarantine, spending 24/7 together in a new state, we can survive anything life throws our way,” with a shudder.

They’ve come to love Oregon, buying their first home together in the summer of 2022, celebrating their fifth anniversary with yet another move. Since their purchase, the two have fallen more in love with DIY and each other, learning new skills and creating a space that is exactly right for them.

Less than a month after moving in to their new home, Ian popped the question to Carly in an intimate proposal in their back yard garden. The two decided on a long engagement, and they’ve both come to love the term “fiancé/e”.

While they have regularly spoken about marriage since celebrating their six month anniversary, Ian always joked that they would need to be together for seven years before they married. In July of this year, they will in fact celebrate their seven year anniversary. That’s some long-term planning on Ian’s part!