How we met (Jenni’s perspective) - I was sitting on my parent’s couch in June 2020 and my mom was sitting in a chair across from me. All of a sudden she starts to giggle and looks up at me and says, “You want to read an email I just received?” Knowing my mother very well, I already knew she was up to something. I said, “sure” and she starts reading an email from a lady named Gayle Darby. Apparently, several YEARS ago, my mom and Gayle talked about how they had children around the same age and that one day they should meet. (Or what I would later find out is that my mom had told Gayle in 2015 that “it would be great to know and be friends with the in-laws”…). Anyone who knows my mom can totally see her saying that. Haha! Well, my mom isn’t alwayyyysss right, but I’ll give her this one. After reading the email, she asked me if she could give my number to Gayle to give to her son Greg. I thought about it for a minute and figured, “what could I lose?” 2020 had been a downer so far, and the guys I had recently dated weren’t going to be The One, so why not? Fast forward through a week of texting, in July 2020, I met Greg in person for the first time. He asked me out on a picnic date to Creve Coeur Lake. We talked about everything that evening, just getting to know each other. After leaving our first date, I called my best friend and told her, “I think I just met my future husband.” Those were my exact words. Never before had I ever left a first date feeling pretty positive that I was going to marry the guy. I mean, that’s insane, right?! But something was VERY different about Greg, and I truly felt God telling me that I had found The One. Fast forward to August 2020 where Greg asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes! However, there was a bigger yes coming several months later. A year after I was sitting on my parent’s couch rolling my eyes at my mom for the ridiculous idea of meeting some random boy, that “random boy” got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I have never in my life given a more excited “YES” than I did on June 17, 2021. I can’t wait until June 18, 2022 when I get to say, “I do!”

How we met (Greg's perspective) - All good relationship stories start with your mom setting you up on a date, right? That’s how my story begins! Back in 2018, I heard rumors from my sisters that my mom was interested in setting me up with a friend’s daughter from church. My sisters had very few details, but one thing mentioned was that this friend’s daughter lived out of town, so my mom wanted to wait on making the connection. Fast forward to June 2020, and thanks to some Facebook sleuthing, my mom discovered this friend’s daughter had moved back to Saint Louis, so her plan was ready to be set in motion! Towards the end of June, my mom asked me if I would be interested in talking to her friend’s daughter from her church named Jenni Jurgenson. I said something to effect of “sure, why not”. The only details I knew about Jenni were that she went to Tulsa for undergrad, had just finished her first year of audiology at WashU, lived in Dogtown, and that her parents knew my parents from their church. On June 25, 2020, my Mom reached out to Jenni’s mom Sandy, who got Jenni’s approval to give me her number. Armed with Jenni’s phone number, I decided to give it a day or two before texting her for the first time, not trying to seem too aggressive. Saturday June 27th, I got the courage up to text Jenni for the first time. I’m not a smooth talker or texter, so I spent a lot of time typing and retyping that first message, trying to say “Hi I’m Greg, your mom gave my mom your number…” without being awkward! Even though I didn’t know Jenni, I was nervous and excited to send that message and wait for a response. A few hours later, she graciously responded in her cheerful, Jenni way, saying that it was nice to be introduced and from there we started texting. For not having met yet in person, the conversation flowed easily, and we had a lot in common and plenty to talk about. As the days went by, I learned more and more about Jenni and quickly realized this was a woman I had to meet in person! After about a week of texting, I asked her if she would like to go out on a date with me. That was the second time I was very nervous to text her and anxiously wait for her response. Jenni said yes to a first date and in July 2020, we went to Creve Coeur Park for a picnic dinner and walk. I still remember that first date like it was yesterday. It was the best first date I’ve ever had. I was so excited afterwards; I went to the gym to burn off all the energy I had. We texted that evening and agreed to go on a second date. It was clear from the start that God was telling me Jenni was the woman I would marry, I just had to hope and pray she felt the same way! Second date turned into a third, then a fourth, and by the fifth date in August 2020 we became officially boyfriend and girlfriend. I was beaming ear to ear driving home from that date, pinching myself that the woman of my dreams wanted to be my girlfriend! On June 17, 2021, I got down on one knee and asked Jenni to marry me. Spoiler alert: she said Yes! I can’t wait until June 18, 2022, when I get to say, “I do” and start the rest of my life with Jenni!