When Sarah moved back to the U.P. for her news reporting job in May 2018, she was assigned to cover a conference at the local university center. Jake happened to be in attendance, and in true Jake fashion, he approached her at the end of the event to introduce himself. Little did they know they would continue to bump into each other, thanks to their jobs, over the next couple of years. In late 2020, Jake and Sarah started messaging each other more often. That December, she invited him to come to a cookie sale she was hosting— just to see if he’d show up. Jake (bravely) showed up to buy a single cookie from her at her pop-up shop inside a (very girly) clothing store in Houghton. He said he sat in his car for 45 minutes pumping himself up to go inside and see her. On January 10, 2021, they went on their first date— snowshoeing and dinner. The next two-and-a-half years were spent partly long-distance, as Jake went to law school about seven hours away. They visited each other as often as possible and spent school breaks together.

Jake and Sarah spent a few days at their friends’ beach house on Lake Michigan— it was Jake’s last weekend in the UP before going back to school. He told her to pack a dress so they could go to dinner together since “we haven’t had a nice dinner together in a while!” After dinner, Jake suggested they go for a walk on the beach, which Sarah initially responded with, “I’d rather take a nap!” He eventually convinced her, and as they walked down the beach, a double rainbow appeared. They headed back to the beach house where they were expecting their friends, Dave and Kathie. Jake said, “Let’s take a selfie!” and Sarah replied, “We’re so bad at selfies! Let’s wait until we get to the house and have Kathie take a picture for us.” “That’s a good idea. I think Kathie is a photographer…” Jake said. As they approached the house, Kathie and Dave were waiting on the patio. Sarah started to walk toward the house when Jake grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. When she turned around, he was smiling at her, and she knew what was about to happen. “Do you want to do this with me forever?” He knelt onto one knee and asked her to marry him. She said, “Yes, of course!” through giggles and tears. And yes, Kathie got pictures of it all!