Ian and Maria met online using the Hinge app and owe all the thanks to Ian's best man Shay, Maria's brother Jacob, and the good Lord for bringing them together. Maria was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH and Ian was born and raised in Polson, Montana. Ian had just moved to Cincinnati, OH for his job at Endeavor Air, and both downloaded Hinge and were searching for matches in Cincinnati. Maria was vacationing in Alamogordo, New Mexico visiting her brother and his wife Aleesha when she came across Ian’s profile. The family decided it would be fun one night to airplay the Hinge app on the TV so the whole family could search for Maria’s next date. So together as a family they sifted through profiles and after looking through a few they came across Ian Ricketts. His main photo was him in White Sands National Park (with an impressive sock tan) with the caption, "do you know where this is?" Fortunately, Maria did know where he was because Jacob and Aleesha had taken her to that location a few days earlier. The picture of Ian was taken when he and his friend Shay, who was finishing Grad school in New Mexico, went on an adventure to White Sands National Park. Maria commented with the answer to his question and luckily did not include the family advice for what to say to "make the move" and waited for a response. A few hours later Ian responded with his charm, and wit and they made plans to meet. Ian and Maria’s first date was during the pandemic so options were limited but they made the best of it (which Maria quickly learned is one of Ian's best qualities). They met at Braxton Brewery and hit it off immediately, even though the brewery was out of every beer. They didn’t want the night to end there and with Ian's busy schedule they only had one night before he left again for a a trip so they toured downtown Cincinnati’s breweries and restaurants. The night was filled with good drinks, good food and great company. Ian and Maria continued to eat great food, drink good drinks (depending on who you ask) and enjoy many adventures together including Hawaii, Montana, the Carolina’s and Paris. They learned that despite their different backgrounds, beer preferences, financial responsibility and sense of humor they go together likes peas and carrots. On August 13th, 2022 Ian asked Maria to be his wife in the crater of the Kilauea Volcano in Volcano National Park Hawaii and she said absolutely, positively YES. Tim and Connie joined the hike down with them to capture this moment and celebrate with Ian and Maria’s favorite cookies.