The chemistry between Jill and Steve was immediate. Jill is affectionally nicknamed tumbleweed for her love of travel and adventure. When she accepted an invite for a last minute, mid-pandemic vacation to Belize, she got more than she bargained for.

When Steve organized a trip with 10 friends to a foreign country in the height of COVID 19, he had no idea he was about to fall in love.

These two met in the airport and when Steve asked if anyone knew where he could pick up his 1990 Astro Van, Jill took one look and immediately volunteered. Steve lowered his polarized Ray Bans to get a better look at the beautiful woman in front of him and excitedly took her up on her offer to help begin navigating this new territory.

When we approached the counter, the first question was if we were on our honeymoon. The chemistry was immediately palpable to a complete stranger. We then proceeded on a very bumpy several hour ride to our estate on the beach.

It did not take long for Steve to ask Jill to smoke a joint on the pier and dance under the moonlight. The two quickly decided to never spend another night apart.

This was beyond adventurous romance on a beautiful beach between two people hopelessly attracted to each other. The two both studied institutional finance and lived less than a mile away from each other, more than 2,800 miles from where they first locked eyes and hearts.

They both grew up in small towns outside of big cities which they affectionally call Mo-Town USA (Mokena and Monongahela). They shared values, ambitions, dreams and a vision for what the future could look like. There was no turning back.

Fast forward to two years later, when Steve planned a romantic proposal. He carried a custom ring halfway around the world to Thailand and planned another adventure Jill was not soon to forget. They spent two weeks touring Hong Kong, Bangkok and Phuket. Steve planned an entire day of exploring remote caves and islands. Before the sunset, they created a beautiful lantern to set free in the ocean as part of a Thailand tradition.

Steve and Jill paddled to a private beach an hour off the coast of Phuket. They lit the candles on their lantern, set it in to the ocean and Steve got down on one knee. He proceeded to recite a poem to her asking her to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him. Jill jumped up and down and shouted YES! YES! YES! YES! YEESSS! and hugged him in pure bliss and excitement. They then proceeded to paddle back through bioluminescent plankton which Jill barely remembers due to the excitement of marrying the man of her dreams.

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