WE're getting married

Yes, our story began with a lucky swipe right on bumble. We were considered a “match” while we were still strangers, yet with every conversation we needed to know more about each other. I finally understood why people called it “falling” in love, because it was a terrifying and wonderful free fall into the unknown. The unknown that turned into our life together. The unknown that became everything we ever wanted to know, everything we wanted to feel, and everything we wanted to love. Every now and then, Steve and I will reminisce on the beginning of us. As cliché as it sounds, I truly feel as though we were meant for each other, our paths were meant to collide. So come with me as I tell the story of us; the story of Stephen and I (from my perspective). It was the beginning of summer ’21 and I had just returned from vacation (possibly feeling the Sunday Blues). The night my cousin and I made the executive decision to download the beautiful app, bumble. Let me tell you a little bit about bumble. Overall it’s the new way people date, duh! An app created to make meaningful relationships, and have women initiate the first move. To be honest, that’s exactly why I chose it. I chose it with the intention of opening it, swiping around, closing it, and never, EVER, sending a message. Strictly entertainment. I can still envision holding my phone when I saw Stephen’s profile. WOW, who is this, Steve. Not only handsome as ever, but a 6ft muscle man that seems to love his family (and cigars), ok fine I’ll swipe right. IT’S A MATCH. Wait what? Closes app. Truthfully, it took me two days to open the app back up. Shoutout to bumble for the constant reminder of the limited time I had to “make the first move”. So yes, I panicked. I opened the app, clicked on my matches, found Steve, and thought of every slick way to say hello. Typing, backspacing, typing, backspacing. “My first ever Hinge match” SEND. That was very slick, right? How about no. I said the wrong dating app… I am on BUMBLE not HINGE. Complete panic. This guy is really going to think I am an active dating app user. I wasn’t lying though; Steve was the first person I had ever sent a message to on BUMBLE. The only guy I had gained the courage to message, and the only guy I felt intrigued by prior to ever knowing him. There was a reason this person that I hadn’t known continuously was popping up in my head, and there were many reasons as to why I initiated that first conversation. Fast forward to meeting Steve for the first time, gosh it feels like yesterday. It was a Thursday night and I was out to eat with my friends when I received a message from him asking if I wanted to go to Joe’s Surf Shack after dinner. WITH HIS SISTER AND FRIENDS. I mean, why wouldn’t I want to meet a stranger with some more strangers for the first time at the most romantic bar in Belmar? Truthfully, I think we were both shocked I said yes. I mean come on, I was not only meeting HIM for the first time, but SISTERS AND THEIR FRIENDS... Sounds not scary at all. But… that’s exactly what I did (sorry dad). I showed up to meet my match and strangers at Joe's and had an amazing night with everyone. I instantly loved them all. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t nervous; my body was trembling the whole ride over to the bar. But it was the second I got out of my car and met Steve outside that I knew I had made the right decision. I don’t know if it was the way he was the only human in a jammed pack bar sitting down to eat a meal, or the way his sisters threw back rumple minze shots that really intrigued me. But it was the day my life entirely changed forever.

That night ended with Steve and I taking a stroll to the beach where we shared our first kiss. It was everything. It was romantic. It truly felt too good to be true. I thought things like this only happened in movies, but there I was being the main character in a love story I didn’t know existed. The feeling felt so real that my internal timer went off, and said it was time to go. Stephen, I am sorry for leaving you on the beach, causing you to take a $100 lyft home. It's funny looking back on that night, realizing all I do now. It’s crazy how my match became my future husband, and that all those strangers became my family/best friends. That when Steve is hungry, you prefer he eats, even if it’s at a jammed pack bar and that rumple mint shots will live on when having a fun night. The nerves he was able to calm just by looking at me in the eyes, and that romance connected to our first kiss never faded. After that first date came memories; we spent holidays, birthdays, graduations, weddings together. We went on endless boat rides, jets games, sushi dates. We celebrated accomplishments, mourned losses, and started new beginnings. We went to baseball games, football games. We went mini golfing, bowling, and played more games of Yahtzee imaginable. We bought a house and turned it into our home. We turned our shed into a bar, renovated a bathroom, and quickly picked up on how to take care of things ourselves. We laughed, we cried, we smiled, we celebrated. We faced every emotion hand and hand. We faced challenges, we picked each other up, and we cheered each other on. We got our first puppy, our beautiful Ellie May. Soon after we rescued our sweetest boy, Leo (Mr. Smiles). We quickly took on responsibilities. His friends became my friends, my friends became his. His family became my family, my family became his. Our families became one. After that first date, we were doing that terrifying and wonderful free fall, we were falling in love. But, the best part is, we knew it from the very beginning. It’s the way I still search for him in a crowded room. The way he makes me feel safe, and wanted. It’s the way we can spend every single day together, and still look forward to waking up and doing it again. It’s the way we both love differently that combines it into being all the love one can share. It’s the way I found myself as soon as I found him. The story of us will forever be my favorite story to tell and while we open the pages to the new chapter of marriage, I will never forget our journey to get there. Hand in Hand, as bestfriends do. From the very beginning, we knew.