It all started at the Truck Park. No, not a literal truck park, but a popular bar in downtown St. Paul. My cousin (and best friend) Jimmy and I were having a fun night out harassing the locals. The clock was nearing bar close a little before 1 am, when Jimmy happened to hazily spot a couple of cute girls at a table on the other side of the bar. He initiated the bothersome approach to their table, brought me with, and started the conversation by bringing up male birth control. The girls became more ready than ever for their Uber to arrive, yet I immediately noticed the stunning woman sitting right in front of me. Through our conversation I was unable to get over the beauty of this stranger sitting in front of me. Playing it cool as Ice Cube, I finessed the retrieval of the phone number of a goddess named Rachel (and yes the attraction was a two way street). Shortly after exchanging digits, the girls left.

I didn't know if I would ever hear back from her, but was happy just to have connected with such an alluring damsel. A couple days passed, until Rachel realized we had one mutual friend on facebook. It was Rachel's best friend's sister, whose wedding I would be an usher at a couple of weeks into the future. Getting an amazing recommendation from the future bride, Rachel reached out to me. At this point I still had no idea there was a close mutual friend between us. Rachel and I talked every day after her friend request to me, yet shyly kept the mutual friend between us a secret. As the wedding came closer, I realized I liked her so much that I wanted to ask her to attend it with me (I am aware it is slightly psychotic to ask someone I only met a week ago to attend a wedding with me, yet I felt so comfortable with her). Before I could ask her, I found out from the Groom of the wedding that she was a close friend of theirs, and that she would already be attending the same wedding. I immediately knew this would be something special. I invited Rachel over to my old house in Mendota, and we had our first "date". The moment she sat down after entering my house, she gazed out the window. It was right then something planted itself in my mind, and I silently said to myself "this is the woman I am going to marry". We saw each other pretty much every day after this, and still have to this day. As time passed our relationship grew stronger and stronger.

After a couple years of dating, I proposed to Rachel at Tettegouche State Park in northern Minnesota. Our future was set in stone. I love this girl beyond imagination, and am so excited for the lifelong journey ahead. We cannot wait to see our family and friends on our special day, June 11th of 2026. God is good!