Who knew that the tail end of a pandemic could be the kindling for such a gorgeous relationship? Yeah yeah, we met on that app. I thought she was cute and so was her cat, Ella. She thought I was cute and could provide some Taco Bell and good conversation. Oh, and we both put our same Myers-Briggs personality types in our bios (ENTP if you were curious) which gave me a good icebreaker that I was too nervous to come up with otherwise. Neither of us can really remember what we talked about that early July night, though I’m certain it got more political than most introductions typically end up being. Regardless, it was enough to keep us wide awake until we almost saw the sun again.

Sometime during that night we decided to finally give me the Lakewood Experience™ I had requested in that app’s bio, and we had our first true date a few nights later: Angelo’s Pizza at the Solstice Steps. Our ongoing enjoyment of people-watching together began that night, sharing pizza and laughing along at fake backstories for all the characters we could create entire lives for. Lakewood Park is good for that.

As I started to gather our blanket and leftover passable pizza, she stopped me with a huge grin and told me to “Wait for it…”, darting her eyes around with an alluring smile, when right on cue, a few stray claps turned into a roaring applause for the infallible sunset, allowing her to finally relax her excited gaze and meet my own uncertain sneer. I’ll always remember that dumbfounding feeling, trying to understand the idea that people can applaud a repetitive event that they’re certain to see for as many days as they exist.

But that’s sort of what love is, isn’t it? Finding fun in the mutual mundane and glorifying every shared experience together? Special moments will always shine brightest in memory, but truly enjoying the distant company of a partner tidying something else across the house, watching the same episodes of comforting shows again and again, running errands that were shelved until they became a necessity, learning the quirks of one another’s fragmented and sporadic routines, and uncovering all the ways to save each other from their icks, ticks, and worst habits are truly the glue between the extraordinary memories we share together. Neither of us will be able to remember specifics from all the random Wednesday evenings, and a lot of Winchester Trivia Thursdays blend together, but I know we enjoyed those moments more because of one another. Some of the brightest memories can always lurk in the dullest moments, I’ve learned. Special moments will sprinkle their way in when you really care, from the littlest of victories to major milestones. Just like our extended, wandering hug in our bare living room on the day we were given the keys to our house.

Which, by the way, who let us do that after ten months of dating one another? And by dating, I mean that we stopped for a night in Niagara Falls on our way back from my surprisingly necessary car purchase in Rochester, New York in late August of 2020. The sounds of the Falls and pocketed Pokemon Go interrupted our silence as we trotted around in the dark. While I was nervously trying to figure out the best way to ask her to be my girlfriend, she grabbed both of my hands, turned to face me with a stern smile, and yelled to me in attempt to beat the roaring waters:

“So, are we doing this or…?"

And that’s all it took. We started our journey at one of the world’s natural wonders, curious to know how far we could go. We had just told each other that we loved each other a couple of weeks prior at Phunkenship’s Power of Sour event, absolutely blasted at noon in the back of an Uber back to Lakewood.

We rescued Leroy after a grueling fourteen hour jaunt past Louisville and back that November. We traded a box of Malley’s chocolate for him, in fact. Leroy and Ella taught us how to manage our household chaos as those two enemies became amicable allies. We learned how to persevere, even when I failed to understand a hiking trail map that caused our six mile hike to become the prettiest sixteen mile hike from Hell that Allegheny National Forest had ever hosted. We learned about the patience required for healing, as our beloved childhood pets passed away THREE CHRISTMASES IN A ROW. We learned to laugh our way through pain, lightheartedly calling our annual winter pet woes our worst family tradition. Thankfully, that tradition paused this past Christmas. And of course, Atlas came into our lives soon after, and he showed us how to slow down and remember how to enjoy nights where nothing in particular is going on. They’re still moments we get to spend together, after all. And boy have we had a lot of those lately, saving up for our special day and scrambling to put together cohesive decorations from two of the most sporadic young minds in the Great Lakes region. But with all of our loved ones in attendance, we can’t wait to share our special day with you and we know the wait on weekend trips and premium sushi rolls will be more than worth it.

At this point, anyone who knew us as individuals before only knows us as an inseparable duo now. That’s not just a self-proclamation, either. If we’re anywhere without the other, it always goes something like this upon arrival:

“Hi!!! Oh my gosh how ARE you? Where’s [insert fiancee name here]?!”

We love sharing experiences and talking about how certain events, songs, and meals make us feel as we continue to still learn more and more about each other. Which, to me, is pretty damn impressive considering how much we both talk. It turns out that matching two oversharing weirdos together means that nobody else is allowed to get a word in edgewise. Who would have thought?

But, I’ve been graciously making the transformation into a theater appreciator, a Swiftie, a true crime junkie, and even more of a political rights activist all while Katie learns about OPS+, slugging percentage, disc golf trivia, and the addicting world of video games. We both have a lot going on, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Constantly comparing perspectives on our favorite things is the closest thing we have to fighting, and we both LOVE a good argument. Those perspective disputes also help us figure out how much we can afford to infodump on certain topics. I know I can leave disc golf technicalities on the shelf, but dance and proper music notations are something I can afford to be reminded of more often. But never in a million years did I think I would have opinions of the Murdaugh Murders in South Carolina, or realize that Hadestown would be one of my favorite live performances of anything, ever. Hell, I proposed in a haunted estate in Trinway, Ohio. That wasn’t on my engagement bingo card. Still, I’m forever thankful for all of it. My life is a lot better thanks to my greatest love letting me into her world.

I could write a mile of stuff here, but I should stop. It’s already too long. But I can’t help but feel like the luckiest man in the world. I sent a desperate attempt into the Tinderverse to find a special someone, and I ended up being the biggest winner in the world. I didn’t think my wife would be one message and one mile away from my first apartment. Had the pandemic not hit, neither of us would have even been in Ohio that summer, chasing totally different careers on opposite corners of the country. With such a lucky strike, finding my forever person at such a young age, I can’t ever expect to win a lottery ticket or a jackpot at the casino. But it won’t matter anyway. No dollar amount could ever top the priceless love we share. I’m totally content having spent all of my luck on the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

She’s not a thing.

She’s my beautiful bride, my quick-witted queen, my adventurous adversary, my thoughtful lover, and the strongest woman I’ve ever met. How all of that passion, intelligence, strength, compassion, and beauty could all be swelled into one beautiful soul, I will never know. All I know is that I’m the luckiest and happiest man in the world. And that’s all I need.

Celebrating her with all of our loved ones cheering and teasing us along is a dream come true. It’s going to be a perfect day, no matter what. Thank you all for being a special part of our lives.

We can’t wait to see you all in September.

-D