Andrew and Stacey met in Washington D.C. in January 2014. They were interviewing for the FDIC. As a way to celebrate the grueling interview coming to an end, a group of interviewees decided to go out to celebrate.

As the group began walking, Andrew and Stacey happened to end up walking next to each other. Stacey was trying to be friendly and asked where Andrew was from. He mentioned he was from Minnesota, which made Stacey assume he must be a hockey fan. When she asked if he was, he responded very bluntly with a "no." He then continued, stating he was actually more of a football fan. Once the group reached their location, Stacey and Andrew went their separate ways for the evening.

The following morning, everyone who was interviewing had to meet for breakfast promptly at 6:00am. Full time positions were going to be offered to interviewees who earned them. As everyone gathered in the room, the group who had went out to celebrate the night before all sat at the same table. Conversations evolved into what everyone was missing the last few days while they were in D.C. for the interview. Stacey mentioned she missed a princess themed birthday party for one of her teammates.

After what seemed like hours, the recruiters finally came in and starting calling names one at a time. Andrew and Stacey were both called to walk into the hallway where the same person was waiting for both of them. After being lead to a separate room, they found out they had both been offered jobs; Andrew in Minneapolis, MN and Stacey in St. Louis, MO. . The job required everyone to start with a group of other people at the same time. Andrew and Stacey both agreed it would be a good idea to request the same start date so they would know someone in class.

When it was time to leave for the afternoon, Stacey went straight to the airport to study – she had a big economics test when she got back to school. Andrew went to lunch with a few others who had been offered a position. While sitting at the terminal studying, Stacey happened to look up and see Andrew walking toward her. As fate would have it, our departing gates were next to each other. Andrew and Stacey were only able to talk for a few short minutes before Andrew had to board. As he was leaving, Stacey wanted to ask for his phone number so they could stay in contact during their last semester of college, but she couldn't remember his name; all she knew was he was from Minnesota and "more of a football fan."

In May of 2014 both Andrew and Stacey graduated from school and starting preparing for their jobs with FDIC. About two weeks before they were set to start, Stacey received a life changing phone call from FDIC. Stacey was packing up all of her belongings and preparing to move to St. Louis when she answered the phone. The FDIC called to inform her that instead of starting in St. Louis, she would actually be heading to Minneapolis, MN for three months, then to Dallas, TX for three months, before finally moving to St. Louis in November 2014. Stacey was devastated because she didn't know anyone who lived in Minneapolis and was looking forward to moving to St. Louis.

Later that day, Stacey's supervisor in Minneapolis gave her a call. He mentioned that Andrew Roiger was starting on the same day she was. Stacey remembered there was a guy she interviewed with back in January who was going to be working in Minneapolis, but again, she couldn't remember his name; all she knew was he was "more of a football fan." Immediately after hanging up with her new boss, Stacey got online to see if the person she met interviewing was Andrew. Pleasantly surprised, Stacey sent Andrew a message on LinkedIn to tell him she would be working in Minneapolis with him for the summer.

Upon receiving this message from Stacey, Andrew vaguely remembered her and how she missed a princess themed birthday party while interviewing. Andrew responded and promised Stacey he would show her around and introduce her to people while she was in Minneapolis with him. Two weeks later they headed to Washington D.C. again to begin training for their new job. On day one, Stacey walked into their training room and instantly locked eyes with Andrew and smiled. For the remainder of the three weeks in D.C., they spent every free moment they had together. Anytime a group went out for dinner or to go touring, they always joined. A common trend started to emerge whenever everyone would go out; Stacey and Andrew were always walking together, considerably out ahead of the rest of the group, deep in conversation. Through these conversations, they realized they shared a common love for dogs, they had very similar views of life, and they got very close, very fast.

While in D.C. an obvious spark was felt between them. Stacey had once dreaded working in Minneapolis for the summer, but after getting to know Andrew in D.C., she was excited to spend more time with him. Once Stacey arrived in Minnesota, everything between them took off. Their relationship was perfect, except for one thing; they knew their relationship had an expiration date. When the summer in Minneapolis ended, and the training in Dallas immediately following concluded, Stacey had to move to St. Louis while Andrew was returning to Minneapolis.

Their time in Dallas came and went. When November arrived, Stacey moved to St. Louis and Andrew returned home to Minneapolis without her. They said goodbye and went their separate ways.

Months passed and they didn't talk. From November to May, the friendship they once had treasured had disappeared as they adjusted to life without one another. Finally in May, their silence broke. Slowly, but surely, they started to rebuild what they had lost. they talked more and more and recognized how much they missed one another. Life without each other was never as good as life with each other. Throughout the summer it was obvious that neither of them had moved on. The treasured memories from the previous summer had never escaped them.

In October they knew they wanted to get back together even though they lived so far apart. Without a stated expiration date on their relationship, they were happier than ever! Dating long distance was far from easy. Every two weeks, one of them would fly to see the other to spend the weekend together. After three months of dating this way, they knew it was time for a change. In January, Stacey started looking for a new job. In March, a promising opportunity came about.

Stacey interviewed in Minneapolis over Easter weekend and landed an excellent new position with a nonprofit organization in downtown Minneapolis. Stacey moved to Minneapolis on April 23, 2016 and everything between Andrew and Stacey has been perfect ever since.

Over Labor Day weekend, they traveled to Colorado. Stacey thought this trip was to celebrate Andrew finishing another CPA test; however, she was wrong. For three months, Andrew had been secretly shopping for engagement rings and planning with the owners of the B&B they stayed at to orchestrate the most beautiful proposal! After spending the day in Denver, going hiking in the mountains and paddle boating on a lake, they checked in to our B&B. Before leaving for dinner, Andrew wanted to go on a hike. As they left for the hike, Stacey noticed the path was lined with candles. The candles lead to a park bench with flowers and a present sitting on it. Stacey opened the gift and found a book Andrew had written for her – it was the story of their lives together. The final page of the book said "so the question is…" with a check yes or no box. When Stacey read this page, Andrew got down on one knee and asked her to marry him!

Fate has brought them together over and over again; first at the airport after interviewing, then sending Stacey to Minneapolis for work, and finally bringing them back together last fall. This time instead of an expiration date, they have a start date. October 14, 2017 is the day they will start their lives together as husband and wife.

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