Welcome and thank you for being a part of our lives. We are excited to celebrate with you this upcoming summer!

How We Met

It all started during the height of the pandemic, with the help of some dating app algorithms. Jessy was impressed with Jake’s ability to recognize the mountains above Quito, Ecuador, where she stood in one of her photos, and his time spent in that area of the world too. While Jake also connected over their international travels, he was even more excited that she had the same Jones splitboard as he did.

First Date

Alaskan winter social distance dating meant bundling up as much as possible and getting a little creative on how to spend time together. Jake had the unconventional idea to hold their first date at the Lake Clark Air Hangar, an active construction site that he was building with his company at the time. They met outside the hangar and ascended several flights of ladders in below freezing temps and got acquainted under a dark night sky with a view of the snowy Chugach mountains. Jessy hung in there as long as she could, but ultimately needed to go home so she could feel her fingers and feet again. Luckily, Jessy could still see Jake’s piercing blue eyes and charm through all his layers and he couldn’t miss Jessy’s cute curls and positive nature.

More Time Together & Patience

We continued to spend time together taking winter walks, cooking, and adventuring into the mountains. Jake patiently waited for Jessy to recover from a bad spell of the flu and finish grad school that spring. Jessy was surprisingly patient with Jake’s living situation, a tiny dry cabin nestled in the mountains above Anchorage, in Bear Valley's spruce forest, as well as his impromptu decision to get a puppy (Tuukka) only several months after they met.

Turning Points

What cemented our relationship (in the eyes of a skeptical Jessy), was the serendipitous opportunity to house sit together in a beautiful, cozy home in Bear Valley (thanks to Mary, our friend and Jake’s fellow BV neighbor at the time). We finally had our own space to cook, host friends, and see what it was like to live with each other – like taking turns endlessly snow blowing the driveway! In a relatively short amount of time, we also weathered and supported each other through some challenging seasons – losing and transitioning jobs, working through some unconventional living situations, the joy and stress of buying a house and moving in together, and a few medical emergencies.

The Proposal

Jake proposed to Jessy on a beautiful fall evening during a post-work hike in the mountains above Anchorage and now, here we go! There’s a lot more life and adventure in store for us and we look forward to sharing a little bit of our Alaska life and our dearest family and friends with you next June.

Stay tuned for more info coming soon(ish).

Cheers and lots of love!

Jake and Jessy