John and Leo’s story began in 2016 at The Great Dane, where they quickly became friends. However, the timing wasn't quite right, and shortly after meeting, Leo left to teach in Micronesia for a year.

When she returned, John and Leo quickly fell in love: backpacking through Yosemite, dancing beneath the eclipse at a music festival in Oregon, and stealing every moment they could together between Wausau and Madison.

Then, in February 2018, the night before Leo was supposed to board a plane for the Peace Corps, she and John took a walk with Bodhi, his loving, slobbery Newfoundland. Under the quiet winter sky, Leo realized her heart had already chosen; she stayed in Wisconsin, choosing love and a future with John.

Since then, their lives have been filled with laughter, adventure, and love: sipping strawberry tart beers and German pilsners, playing endless games of volleyball with their closest friends, canoeing and camping beneath the stars, and celebrating life’s milestones together. Their family grew with the addition of another sweet Newfie, Smokey, making their love and their home even fuller.

Now, after eight beautiful years together, John and Leo are overjoyed to begin their greatest adventure yet- tying the knot!