We are so excited to finally get to celebrate our love with family and friends!

As many of you know, Darryl and I first met in October of 2011 when I was applying for a job at TGI Fridays in Bloomington. One of my good friends, Jenny, had been working there for a while and she told me that I should go in and fill out an application.

At the time, Darryl was working as a host and he greeted me at the front door as I walked in. Darryl later told me that when he first saw me he thought I was gorgeous and he knew he had to find out more about me and who I was. I just thought he was being friendly :).

While I was filling out the application, Darryl stopped by my table and confidently assured me that he could put in a good word and get me a job there. I informed him that I already had Jenny's recommendation, thanked him, but kindly declined his help. After handing in my application, I immediately text Jenny and asked, "Who is the handsome guy with the pretty eyes?" and she responded, "Ohhh that's Darryl!"

After I started working at Fridays, Darryl was always friendly, kind, and flirtatious. He proceeded to ask me out various times to which I responded, "no". lol. Until I finally said yes!

Over the years we have traveled, taken various classes, read books together, gone to numerous comedy shows, movies, sporting events, found many different parks and hiking trails that we have loved, and have explored and tried so many new things together. We have made tons of wonderful memories, not only with each other but also with our family and friends.

We got engaged at the end of November of 2019 (the engagement story is long so you'll have to ask us about it in person if you want all of those fun details lol). After our engagement, Darryl, had chosen the date of 10/10/2020 because Fall is my favorite season and he knows October is my favorite month of the year. Additionally, Darryl is a numbers guy and he loved the way that wedding date looked on paper (not to mention that it's easy to remember). Although our engagement fell at the end of the 2019 autumn season, we were excitedly looking forward to 2020 and all it had to offer.

A few months into 2020, Covid hit. Darryl and I talked about postponing our wedding and waiting to see what happened, but by the end of the summer we were so tired of all of the unknowns. We kept trying to make plans and then the plans had to change over and over. So, we just decided to stick to what we were sure of, and that was that we wanted to get married and start our lives together. So, we planned for the original date we had chosen, planned to move in together that month, and planned for our parents and siblings to come and watch us officially commit our love to each other.

We were able to get married in Hastings by the water at Spring Lake Park on 10/10/2020 and it was a perfect autumn day. Darryl moved into our apartment in Hastings at that time as well. The only downside to our beautiful wedding was that all of our friends and family were not there to share our joy and to celebrate with us.

We are beyond excited to have a night with our family, friends, and loved ones to celebrate our love for each other, where it all began!

Wedding Celebration Party