As if part of a Fairy Tale or perhaps a Nicholas Sparks novel, Melissa and Austin's loves story begins, as all great ones do, on a dating app. They connected on Hinge, initial conversation flowing effortlessly as they bar hopped on a chilly November night near the six corners in Wicker Park. Mel, the ever punctual one, arrived at the date before Austin, a first (and probably last) occurrence that set their beautiful whirlwind journey in motion.

Despite Mel’s initial apprehension to give another dating app date a try after years of failure, she texted her friends excitedly that she was having a great time. Austin, meanwhile - a dating app novice - was thinking this dating app thing was pretty great and he should have tried it a long time ago. After a wonderful night of swapping stories and getting to know each other, their connection was undeniable. They met up for coffee that same Sunday and celebrated Mel's birthday over dinner less than a week later. Austin, nervous to give Mel a birthday gift but not wanting to overstep after only one week, gave Mel the only gift a good ole’ Midwestern guy could think of – a heavy-duty snow scraper. Mel loved it and at that time, Mel and Austin started to fall in love.

After a month of dating, they experienced one of their most cherished memories together. While on a run in Humboldt Park, Mel mustered up the courage to ask Austin if he’d go to Boston with her to meet her family and watch her run the Boston Marathon. For the next few months Mel's training group met in Barrington, which worked out great because Austin's parents live just the town over, so they all got to spend a lot of time together. In the magical month of April, they flew together to Boston, where Mel ran an amazing marathon. Austin got to meet Mel’s parents and many of her friends from the East Coast. Austin saw how much strength and perseverance Mel had and witnessed her many wonderful relationships. They still talk fondly about that weekend; it was a pivotal few days that helped their love grow.

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