John and Mikaela met in Minneapolis in 2017 in the most original and exciting way possible – online dating! They met on Bumble, meaning Mikaela had to initiate the conversation. That first conversation was a riveting one – they talked, much to everyone’s surprise I’m sure, about band. After a bit of back and forth, they decided to meet up.

Their first date was in late July. Mikaela was just getting back from a camping trip with friends, and John had a softball game later that evening, but they were so eager to meet they squeezed in a date in the few free hours they had that afternoon. They went to Day Block Brewing Company, and then walked around Gold Medal Park and the “Yellow Room” at the Guthrie Theater. Later on, John briefly forgot about this second half of the date, probably because by that point he was so enchanted with Mikaela’s presence that he couldn’t think straight.

Despite the eventual and unfortunate discovery that Mikaela is both a Badger and a Packer fan (no one’s perfect, after all), they hit it off immediately. After a few more dates, including a visit to the Minnesota State Fair, they decided it was time to make it official on August 29, 2017 – just a month after their first date.

They moved in together the following April to an apartment downtown, where they enjoyed frequent shows, concerts, and sports together. More importantly, John became a co-parent to Clover and Leo.🐈🐈 Their relationship grew stronger and stronger, and it soon became difficult to imagine life apart. John and Mikaela got pretty close too.

In 2019, after John’s quarter-life crisis where he decided he wanted to help stop global warming or whatever, Mikaela and John struck out on their own to Washington, DC together while John began grad school at the University of Maryland. Moving to a brand-new city had its challenges, but they learned to rely on and trust one another, and their relationship got stronger.

Not long after moving across the country, they enjoyed their first international trip together when John studied abroad in Indonesia – Mikaela backpacked around Thailand and then met him in Bali, where they saw incredible temples and natural beauty, learned to surf, and briefly got hunted by monkeys – luckily, they made it back alive.

After a few years in DC and numerous domestic trips together to visit national parks, go camping, and see their favorite shows and sports teams, John decided to propose on a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. John wanted to surprise her, so even though he had the exact day and spot in mind, he played it off like he was improvising most of their trip to throw her off the scent. It worked like a charm, and Mikaela was completely taken off guard by the proposal – in fact, five minutes before, she messaged her best friends saying, “well THIS would have been a great spot for him to propose!” Luckily, five minutes later, he did, or she might have thrown him off the mountain out of sheer impatience.

John and Mikaela are so excited to be getting married and to start the next chapter of their life together. They are both thrilled to be celebrating their relationship and committing to one another with the support of the people that mean the most to them. They are looking forward to a day full of love, laughter, and libations on their wedding day, and can’t wait to see you all there!