His Version

I'll never forget the day I first met Erin. It was at the Wilmette hockey rink, and there she was, helping one of my players with homework at a nearby table. She immediately caught my attention, ticking all the right boxes. She was attractive, willing to lend a hand, and seemed like she had brains too. At least enough to help with fifth-grade homework, which was enough for me.

After one brief interaction where she suggested that I hang a framed photo of my U-10 girls team above my bed… my curiosity continued to grow. I decided to ask the father of the player what he thought of her. I then learned that she was their nanny and had been helping them out for the past few months when she wasn't working with the Blackhawks. My heart skipped a beat. Not only was she great with kids, but did this mean she liked hockey too? It was a perfect match.

Now, I've always had a way with the ladies. Picking up women and scoring dates was never an issue for me. So, with a confident stride, I decided to make my move. I managed to get her number from the hockey parent and cast my "rizz" line out. And wouldn't you know it, I reeled in my catch. We started exchanging texts, engaging in some casual banter over the next couple of weeks. I remember her mentioning a trip to Vegas with her girlfriends to see either the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC. We planned to meet up for a drink once she returned from her epic adventure.

Finally, the much-anticipated date night arrived. We decided to go to a laid-back California-themed restaurant in the bustling hub of Wicker Park, Chicago. I was dressed to impress, looking dapper as ever. And in she walked, Erin, sporting a casual outfit and a pair of LL Bean boots. Wait a minute, was I overdressed? Did I read too much into this being a date? I broke the ice by thanking her for getting so dressed up to meet me. To this day she talks about how shocked she was that I made fun of her within two minutes of our date starting.

I thought we would have a few drinks and call it a night. I didn’t even eat dinner before because I figured I would be home in time to eat after. But as Erin and I started talking, we discovered that we had so much in common. We talked about traveling, our shared love of the summer camps we grew up at, and our desire to see all the concerts in the world. What started as an hour of conversation effortlessly turned into two, then four, and before we knew it, eight hours had flown by. Time seemed to warp in our presence as we delved deeper into our shared interests.

The remarkable thing was that the conversation never faltered. We didn't find ourselves struggling to come up with topics or awkwardly grasping at straws to keep things going. At one point she asked me what my favorite color was and then asked 15 minutes worth of follow-up questions on it. It was as if the universe had conspired to create this effortless connection between us. The chemistry was palpable, and I couldn't help but bask in the delight of it all.

However, I must admit that the night did become a bit of a blur as the hours ticked by. Perhaps it was the combination of the drinks, the lack of dinner, the enchanting atmosphere, and the chemistry between us. Regardless, I can confidently say that we had an incredible time, even if my memory might be a tad hazy on the details.

Little did I know that this seemingly casual encounter would be the beginning of something extraordinary.

Her Version

I don’t need to read what’s written above to assume grossly exaggerated to make Kyle sound *much* smoother than he was. I’m sure he left out the part where he, heavily overserved and under-supervised, told me he loved me after our fourth date. He still denies that to this day - but thank goodness he figured it out so fast.

Our first few dates were so easy. We ate, drank, laughed, went to a Cubs game, danced, and had so much fun together. During that time, I decided I was going to move back to the East Coast for graduate school a few months later, so it didn’t make sense to me to continue dating someone if I was moving home.

I spent the day before our third date with two girlfriends figuring out exactly what I would say to let him down easy. Being the control freak that I am, I also predicted what he would say back and how the entire conversation would go. In my version, I explained the practicality of the situation, and he agreed, we high-fived and went our separate ways.

Luckily, reality looked a lot different. I explained the situation as he walked me back to my apartment after our date. Instead of my high-five, I got a thoughtful response about how, instead, he would like to spend as much time together as we could until I moved and figure out all the details later. So that’s what we did!

We never once had a conversation about dating. He never actually even asked me to be his girlfriend (just his wife!). We also never had a conversation about being in a long-distance relationship. We just did it. After a few months of dating in Chicago and almost two years of living in different cities, Kyle moved to Alexandria, Virginia so we could live together. We’ve lived here since 2019 and I’m so grateful for and proud of the life we’ve built.

Our Version

We’ve daydreamed about our wedding for years, and now it’s really happening! Our hope is that all of our favorite people will come to our favorite place and have one heck of a weekend. Even more than the dancing and the food, we are looking forward to spending time with you, celebrating the start of our marriage!