Our journey all started at a party on April 13th, 2019 when we met at a mutual friend’s house. I spotted Marissa from across the room yelling at someone at the beer pong table. I thought she was pretty so when I saw her later at the party, I took a chance and introduced myself. That was the beginning of something we never saw coming.

A few days after meeting, I had a feeling that Jake and I had met before so I texted my friend Angel looking for a picture. A few months earlier in December I had gone to a bar to meet up with my sister who was in town. I let Angel know where I was she let me know she'd meet up with a few friends. When she arrived she introduced me to her friend "Eyth." In true 2018 fashion, jean jackets were very in and all three of us showed up wearing them. A picture was taken, a brief introduction was made, but little did we know, fate had a plan for us.

Marissa and I quickly bonded over our shared humor, love for adventure, and the little moments that make life exciting. I had a wedding coming up in Oklahoma about two weeks away and so on a whim I invited her to come with me. And on a whim, she said yes.

I still can't believe that I said yes! My friends reassured me he was not an ax murder and about week later we were on an 8 hour drive to Oklahoma City. I was so nervous going in as this was a 60 hour date with no backing out if our initial spark was just a spark. Those worries quickly faded though as we spent those 60 hours jamming out to music, getting to know each other on a deeper level, and taking a private golf cart ride around the zoo.

60 hours later, we knew we had something real, something worth exploring. After Oklahoma, I thought it was about time we had our first real date. Marissa drove up to visit me in Omaha for the first time and we had a very romantic 3:00 PM meal at Biaggi's.

The months that followed were filled with trips between Omaha and Lincoln, sushi dates, house parties, lazy days at the Dojo, and 100’s of quarters spent at the Arcade Bar. Most weekends, Jake would get off work Friday at 10:00 PM and at 10:15 PM he'd be on I-80 driving down to Lincoln to stay with me until Monday. We enjoyed the ease and excitement of life in our early 20’s until life got really real.

In March of 2020, the world stopped, and so did we. Like many couples, we found ourselves reevaluating life, and it was during this time that we truly discovered what mattered most: each other. With life as we had known it coming to a halt, we found joy, solace, and real companionship in each other. My job had sent me home to work remote, and Marissa’s final semester of college and waitressing job had have effectively been cancelled. We found our new normal in each other; trading in our restaurant dates and bar nights, for cozy home dates, rollerblading with roommates, and making the most of our new normal. While early on in our relationship had prioritized fun and excitement, covid gave us both the opportunity to slow down and really take the time to look at each other as life long partners.

So in November of 2020, after more than 8,500 miles of travel to see each other, we took our first big step— I moved to Omaha. For the first time, Jake and I lived in the same city and moved in together a year later. We filled our days with lots of laughter, cross country adventures, musicals, and lots of thrifting. And yes, I finally convinced Jake to let me get another cat.

Closer to present day, we decided it would be fun to do several important life events as the same time so, WE GOT ENGAGED IN KANSAS CITY ON 11/11/2023 Marissa was totally surprised and didn't see it coming at all. The night before she sprained her wrist dancing—thankfully, it was her right hand, or else that ring definitely would not have fit! Three months later, we purchased our first home together in Omaha. Now we are in full wedding planning mode and are excited to celebrate starting the next chapter of our lives together.

Our journey has been filled with surprises, adventures, and a whole lot of love. We can’t wait to continue this journey with all of you by our side, and we are so excited to celebrate our wedding day with you in July.

See you there!

With love,

Jake & Marissa