A match made online! Libby found Jon on match.com after setting her search to a 300 mile radius of Shreveport, LA where she lived, working as an occupational therapist at a local rehabilitation center. Jon, a high school Spanish teacher at the time and living in Waco, TX, was off for the summer when he received a "like" from Libby, thus setting up a perfect opportunity for the two to possibly gamble on a long-distance relationship. What's a mere 238 miles, anyway? He reached out to her, and the conversation very quickly bloomed from the typical dating site chit-chat to three-hour phone calls late into the evenings. It was an instant connection!

The first date was on June 13, 2019, exactly a week after the two were "matched" online. Jon and Libby agreed on a meeting point halfway between their respective cities - Tyler, Texas. Just before leaving for the meet-up, Libby excitedly and jokingly messaged her entourage "Here's to the last first date!" Jon treated Libby to a Mexican lunch at Mercado's in downtown Tyler (where he smoothly sneaked in his Spanish skills). They spent the majority of the day at the Caldwell Zoo where even the animals were excited for the day, showing up and showing off from lions roaring to giraffe (near) encounters. The day proved to be a great one, so they extended the date to include a late afternoon tasting at Kiepersol Winery, followed by ice cream at only the best creamery- Braum's!

Leaving a perfect stranger to return home never seemed so hard, as it seemed as if they had known each other for MUCH longer than a few hours. But for the sake of playing it cool and avoiding any "creeper" vibes, the two parted ways with generic plans of "seeing where things go." Well, they're going all the way to the altar in Salado, TX on May 16th, 2020!

As per usual weekend routine, Libby drove down from Shreveport to visit Jon in Waco, half expecting the usual - high school football game Friday night, assistant to the wedding DJ on Saturday, lunch with Jon's family on Sunday. On this particular weekend, however, Libby had an extra day off with plans of exploring the quaint downtown of Salado, TX with Jon for a romantic, fun date day. She left, fully prepared for a romantic day with a possible proposal at the end of the weekend. (Poor Jon couldn't catch a break, as his first two plans were canned.) But on Friday, September 27, 2019, she arrived to Waco, later than usual, hungry and tired from work and the long drive. Jon had just finished announcing the football game, and he offered to treat her to pizza at one of the local hot spots (and their favorite), Poppa Rollo's . After dinner, he drove her to Baylor's McLane Stadium where the couple eventually walked to their "spot" atop the nearby Umphrey Footbridge- a simple, special tradition the two had established since Libby's first visit to Waco a couple of months prior. After trying and failing to find a passerby to take Jon and Libby's picture (and Libby patiently waiting as he insisted for a picture with the wind blasting hair in her no-make up face), Jon eventually dropped to one knee to pop the question. SHE SAID YES - only about a hundred times! Only then did another couple appear as they had overheard the proposal, and they took plenty of pictures of the newly engaged couple to capture the happiest moment of their lives!