It's a match! Jacob and Desiree matched on Tinder in August of 2015. Jacob was living in his hometown of Mt. Vernon, Illinois and Desiree was in Nashville, Tennessee. They texted off and on for a bit. Finally, not long after Thanksgiving, they started talking a little more seriously. They agreed to meet for a date on Broadway on an unusually warm winter night in Nashville.

Jacob made the three and a half hour drive which meant he had three and a half hours to try to shake his nerves, but he became a little more nervous as the miles to Nashville decreased on the interstate signs.

Naturally, Jacob couldn't find a place to park so Desiree had him pick her up to use her parking pass for her work's parking garage. So their first in-person interaction was Desiree hopping into Jacob's truck.

They sat down for dinner at Bailey's. Jacob was still trying to work off the nerves from the drive. He would barely look Desiree in the eyes. Desiree finally was able to loosen up Jacob and they had a blast of a Friday night on Broadway. Jacob hung out in Nashville the remainder of the weekend. By the time the weekend ended, Jacob and Desiree hadn't made plans to see each other for a couple of weekends. By the next weekend, Jacob was back in Nashville for more time with Desiree.

Jacob and Desiree dated long distance for the first half of 2016 though Jacob was in Nashville on most weekends. Those who knew Desiree at this time understand she was 'not looking for anything too serious'. Jacob was not swayed and knew how to get beyond her emphasized tough exterior. By all accounts, Desiree knew this Illinois boy was something special (though she didn't want him to know that too soon). By July, Jacob had finally moved to Nashville and into an apartment with his best man, Bryce, and Jacob and Desiree were excited to be just a few miles away from each other and have the ability to see each other whenever they wanted and to not have to wait for the weekend.

The rest was really history. Their relationship grew from there. As time went on, they began discussing moving to Florida to try it for a couple of years and that became reality. Florida brought some challenges, but Jacob and Desiree grew closer. Near the end of February 2020, just before the world apparently hit the next level of Jumanji as the world spun into a pandemic, Jacob and Desiree were able to get a visit into her home state of Kansas. There, Jacob had a conversation with Desiree's dad, Dave, and asked for his blessing to marry Desiree.

Jacob had originally planned to take a trip to Nashville and propose there, but as they say, Covid. During April, Jacob and Desiree were both working from home. Jacob snuck in a ring purchase online while Desiree was in her office. A few days later, Jacob decided to propose on the beach. This took some help from Desiree's mom, Karla, but he was able to pull it off without being too suspicious though he had to deflect a few questions from Desiree.

Jacob and Desiree took a trip down memory lane as the sun set on April 29, 2020. By the time the sun had set, they were engaged and getting an applause from the socially distanced beach goers.

It's only fitting that Jacob and Desiree are getting married in St. Pete Beach. Their first trip together was to the beach and their biggest moment as a couple was on the beach and now they'll join together in marriage on the beach.