We first interacted on the dating App Hinge, both of us heard of mutual friends that had a lot of success with it. I remember when we first matched, my immediate thought was “ Holy crap how does such a beautiful girl like this have a biochemistry degree, I can’t mess this one up.” So I naturally did a cheesy scientific pick up line, and shockingly enough she liked it. From there we texted a little and then agreed to go meet up for drinks.

On the night we were supposed to meet for the first time Kristen kept giving excuses as to why she won’t be on time, I began to worry if she even wanted to hangout. It took some convincing by her best friend, now maid of honor Jamie Kraig. After changing the original location twice she reluctantly decided to go and give it a shot, just a little over two hours late. However, once we actually met face to face and started talking it was like we’d known each other for years, we couldn’t stop talking and ended up closing out the venue just talking all night. We even planned our second date to the natural history museum. Needless to say we both fell for each other very quickly.

We began dating shortly after and would go on to introduce each other to our friends and family. I loved how kind and welcoming her friends and family were, they all seemed to like me. I loved how well Kristen seemingly got along with my sisters and was immediately integrated into all my friend groups. Everyone could tell there was something special between the two of us even this early on.

Unfortunately shortly after dating I had finally had enough of my geologist job in Cleveland and I was desperate to find another one, the only place I could find one was Columbus, Ohio. Kristen had a really good job she had just started up in Cleveland so she wasn’t ready to move. Eventually though we realize we don’t like being apart from each other and after some time Kristen finds a new job and moves to Columbus too. Even though this was the hardest time in our relationship, it was without a doubt the best thing for us because it made us realize how important we were to one another.

So now we were living together in Columbus, just the two of us…and our newest little bundle of joy Mia. Mia entered our lives and immediately took control, Kristen was absolutely obsessed however me growing up with Golden retrievers my entire life, it took me a little more time to come around. Oddly enough this little dog would be the missing piece we never knew we were missing. I got to see first hand Kristen’s motherly instincts take hold, she treated that dog as if she raised it in her belly for 9 months. At first I thought “Alright why is this girl so obsessed with this tiny little dog?” But over time it made sense, it was the start of our little family.

I knew for a while that I loved this girl but now I know I want to spend the rest of my life with this person. So naturally the next step is to figure out how to propose to Kristen, which was easier said than done. If you know Kristen you know she has Zero patience for anything and she loves extravagance and attention. Also the other thing working against me was the fact that all of her best friends were getting engaged at the same time, 4 of them within 8 months of each other. So she had a really bad engagement fever, which made the surprise part of it even more difficult to plan. In fact I planned it on the only weekend we had available for months. So at Georgetown Vosh I booked us a private little date and popped the question, she was in shock. Even better, I planned a surprise engagement party where our families met for the first time. We even ended up going to the spot where we first met and the original spot we were supposed to go on the first date a little over 4 years later.

Since the engagement we have bought a home together in Columbus, I’ve switched careers into becoming a teacher, and started coaching High School football on top of planning a wedding. She’s even helped me get out of my comfort zone and travel to places I probably wouldn’t have gone on my own. We also dream of someday owning a lake house in her childhood get away spot, Lake Chautauqua, New York. Kristen has been by my side the entire time encouraging me to be the best man I can be and being the woman I’ve always prayed for since I was a young boy.

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