Will saw Adele for the first time in South Minneapolis while standing on the corner of Lake of the Isles Pkwy and 28th St, for our first date; a walk around Lake of the Isles. Adele approached Will and they both awkwardly introduced themselves to confirm that they were in fact each other’s Coffee Meets Bagel date. However, this was not Will’s first look at Adele. Will was about 15 minutes early to the date and stood on that corner glancing into passing cars to see if any of the drivers resembled the pictures of Adele. Will and Adele had been re-trying online dating and praying that it was God’s will to find the love of their life. Sure enough, as Adele drove past Will on the corner, he saw a girl with green Aviator sunglasses and thought to himself “if that’s her we’re off to a great start, because she looks cool.” Adele was also about ten minutes early to the date, and she called Will just to let him know she was looking for parking and would be there as soon as she could, which he really appreciated. This foreshadowed a relationship rooted in excellent communication. A few minutes into the walk around the lake we figured out that we both grew up in Edina, MN and went to EHS, but graduated two years apart. Both of us grew up in Christian Faith and were very up front about our dating intentions from our first date. We both were dating to find “the one.” Because we were both nervous for the date, neither of us ate anything beforehand. As the walk was concluding Will was feeling bold since the date was going very well! Will asked Adele to continue the date with a coffee or a drink, but after a long walk both of us confessed our hunger and prior nerves. We ended up at Hi-Lo Diner on Lake St. and ate some delicious food, a passion for us. God (and the internet) brought us together. We both knew from the start that we were meant to grow, learn, and love each other for the rest of our lives.

Adele claims to have known she loved Will before he knew, but Will said it first mid-December 2016 after our first trip together to Vermont for Adele’s friend’s wedding. A little over a year later, on January 27th, 2018, Will proposed to Adele on a stone bridge in the Minnehaha Falls river valley. With snow on the ground, temps in the upper 30s, and a bright winter sun, Will asked Adele to go on a Saturday walk. Earlier that week, Will mentioned to Adele that he wanted to go on a leisurely walk at the Falls over the weekend. That morning he mentioned that Adele should shower and paint her nails before they headed out. This may seem like a tell-tale sign, but he had been doing this for weeks to confuse Adele to keep the actual engagement plan a surprise! At the Falls, Adele began to take a panorama photo while on the bridge and Will knelt to get out of the way of the picture. When she finished the shot, he said "I might as well stay down here since I brought something special with me today." He then asked her to be his partner for life, and she enthusiastically said "Yes! Of course!" Only then did Adele get to see in person the ring that Will had chosen to showcase her Titi's diamond.

Will began his ring search solo. He asked Adele to send him pictures of designs she liked and they all boiled down to a few key features: she liked vintage-y, a cathedral, a halo, side diamonds, and rose gold. Will ended up going to a local jeweler and choosing a ring that spoke to him and the love he and Adele shared. After texting pictures to both his Mom and Sister, he second guessed his selection based on their feedback. His Mom and Sister both actually did not think that ring was what they thought Adele wanted. Will took all that to heart. He decided to ask Adele along to the jewelers where he had three rings picked for her to see. One ring was the one he had previously chosen, that his Mom and Sister didn’t like. Out of the three, Adele picked the ring Will originally chose! It was glorious validation for Will; a true sign that he knew how to listen to his future wife very well. The rose gold rendition of the ring with the heirloom diamond from Adele’s Grandmother Titi is a very beautiful symbol of the intertwining of our lives, love, and faith.