Our story begins not in the midwest where we both grew up (John - Green Bay, WI; Abbie - Eden Valley, MN), but 2,000 miles away in Portland, Oregon. John moved to Portland in 2019 and Abbie moved there in 2021, both of us taking the leap to move across the country with a common desire for adventure, mountains and new people & places. We met the way most modern romances begin - through a dating app. Our first date was at Steeplejack Brewing in Portland, where we drank Hazy IPAs and played cribbage (Abbie beat John both games). We quickly made plans for a second date just a few days later to grab coffee and go to the farmer’s market. From there, we started spending as much time as we could together, showing each other all of our favorite things including motorcycle rides, the Kennedy School soaking pool, gorge hikes, Timbers games, thrift shopping, bar trivia, and more. Within the first few weeks of dating, we both wanted to prove to the other that we were adventurous and fun, so Abbie summited her first mountain, Mt St Helens, and John summited and snowboarded down Mt Hood. We admitted to each other months later that we were trying to impress the other, and it had worked. Also within the first few weeks of dating, Abbie started interviewing for a new job and John started talks to buy his neighbor’s cargo van. Soon we had a lot to celebrate: a new dream job in sustainability, a new project to build out a camper van, and an exciting new relationship :) We enjoyed a little over 2 years together in Portland, soaking up all the wonders of the PNW. In October of 2024, we packed up all our belongings and our little dog Wilder and road tripped the camper van to our new home in Green Bay, WI. After a few months in Green Bay, on one of the coldest and sunniest days of February, while Abbie’s family was visiting town, John got down on a knee and asked Abbie to marry him! We celebrated with a champagne toast at 1919, the bar at Lambeau Field, and dinner with both of our families. We are super excited to get married and commit to spending the rest of our lives together, and we are looking forward to all of our friends and family sharing in our wedding festivities with us!