We're tying the knot!

Ours is a classic love story for the internet age: Boy and girl join an online dating site. Many, many bad dates ensue. Boy and girl eventually lose hope and resign themselves to being single forever. Boy and girl finally match on site. They meet each other for their first date and kill it at bar trivia, but go their separate ways for a couple of years. Boy and girl reconnect on Facebook and decide to meet up for their SECOND first date on September 12th, 2012. Boy and girl start dating, continue to kill it at bar trivia, fall in love, and the rest is history! We owe our love to OkCupid's algorithm and a mutual love of bar trivia, and really, what's more romantic than that? Five years after that fateful (second) first date, we are blissfully cohabitating in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago with our beloved pup Tucker. We're busily planning our big day and can't wait to celebrate with you!

John asked Rachel to marry him on November 20th, 2016 while the couple was on a weekend getaway in Galena, Illinois. Rachel had a shrewd idea John would propose before the end of the year, but he still managed to surprise her anyway. They started the day right with a wine tasting at the Galena Cellars Winery. Once they were sufficiently tipsy, they decided to take a trolley tour through town. While on their tour, the trolley driver recommended a restaurant called Otto's Place. John seized the opportunity and suggested they eat there for lunch, because the restaurant just happened to be near Grant Park...where he was planning to propose. As they walked through the park, John subtly steered Rachel toward his chosen spot - a beautiful gazebo - by feigning interest in a nearby statue of Ulysses S. Grant. After pretending to contemplate the monument for a few minutes and working up his courage, John took Rachel by the hand, lead her into the gazebo, and told her how much he loved her. Despite the setting and the romantic speech, Rachel somehow didn't get the hint until John dropped down to one knee. (She blames the wine.) John proposed with his grandmother's ring, and a deliriously happy Rachel said "Yeah!"

Our wedding and reception will be held at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake, IL on April 28th, 2018. We're SO excited to get hitched and can't wait to celebrate with our wonderful friends and family. Don't forget your dancing shoes!