Grace and Joey were both in college at the time; neither of them looking for a relationship. Joey had moved out of his parents to St. Paul, excited to start at Augsburg and live on his own, and Grace recently transferred to UW-River Falls, with 3 jobs and full time credits, not thinking anything else could possibly fit into her routine. On December 14, 2018 (yes, they remember the date) Grace got a message on Tinder reading: “Are you my appendix? Because I don’t know what you do, but I kind of want to take you out.” This was the pickup line that started it all. They officially met only 4 days later. There was instant chemistry. They had their first official date on December 21st at a Wild game, and the rest is history.
It was their 4 year anniversary. Joey was coaching baseball for Edison High School, and they had their first game at Target Field after the Twins played that day. What had been a cold and rainy start of spring, this day was a blessing; it was 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Joey and Grace had invited their friends and family to come support Joey at his first game. Unknown to Grace, it was for the proposal. Joey had gotten into contact with someone on the Twins staff and set up what Grace thought was a “coaches tour” prior to the start of the Twins game. The head coach and his wife, Joe and Tristan (good friends of Joey and Grace) were along for the tour, as well as Grace’s best friend, Katrina (Grace’s Maid of Honor), and her husband Evan (our officiant), because “they didn’t get their tickets from Joey yet.” Two of the Twins’ staff led the group around the concourse of Target Field, before heading up to the offices that overlooked the field. Once they reached the owner’s office, Grace was asked to take a picture of Katrina and Evan, with the field in the background. Because of the lighting, they moved down to the other side of the balcony. While this was happening, Joey, Joe, and Tristan, followed behind. Evan asked Grace to turn around and take a picture with Katrina, and to Grace’s surprise, there was Joey down on one knee. The first words out of Grace’s mouth were “shut up” (something she still gets picked on for to this day). She of course said yes. Joey then pointed out that across the way, their families and friends had watched the proposal, and were cheering from the other side of the field. It was such a special day.