Let's Get Married!

In December 2018, two curlers laced up their curling shoes, walked onto the frosty ice, and the competition began. At a bonspiel (curling tournament) in Brainerd, MN, Aaron and Ali's teams were set to play against each other for the first game. Ali loves to tell the long version of the story because she ended up winning the game. The rest of the weekend, both teams enjoyed playing dice and cards together. Their story ended with just a fun weekend of curling and they had to wait a full year for the story to continue. In December 2019, Aaron and Ali met back up again...at curling! The same Brainerd bonspiel brought them back together. They both remember thinking, hey I remember this person from last year, they were cool and fun. At the end of the weekend, they exchanged numbers and met up for their first date three days later at Utepils Brewery.

Following the first dates and Christmas season of 2019, we rolled into the near year so happy to get to know each other and excited to see what 2020 had in store for our future! Turns out, 2020 decided a global pandemic was the ultimate test to a brand new relationship. Were we ready to be each other's bubble? How do we introduce each other to friends and family? Even though the world was scary, the pandemic forced us to spend more time together and our relationship grew stronger. At this time, Ali lived in an awesome top-floor apartment unit in a Victorian era home in St. Paul. She loved the location (so close to the curling club and coffee shops), the floor plan of the apartment, and her first solo apartment. Aaron lived roughly 35 minutes away in a townhome in Eden Prairie. Both made that drive multiple times a week and we still think of Highway 62 very fondly as it reminds us of each other. We got into a good routine of making dinners together, playing a lot of new board games and cribbage, and of course going on long walks with Andy, Aaron's mini poodle. Andy ruled the house and quickly won over Ali's heart. He would give the biggest tail wags and excited dances when Ali would arrive and then get sad and ignore Aaron when Ali would leave. It didn't take long for the three of us to start going on camping trips together as a great pandemic vacation. Even though Aaron was unlucky getting bee stings in the mouth, losing his keys, and thinking he got into a patch of poison ivy, a lot of great memories were made on these trips. When it was time for Ali to move in 2022 due to changes in her apartment, Aaron and Ali had to made a big decision. Was it time to move in together?? Aaron didn't want to go back to renting, Ali couldn't move to Eden Prairie with her job, and we felt ready to make the next step. The home buying process involved seeing over 30 homes, putting an offer on two homes, getting accepted on one offer only for the sellers to back out, and many nights scrolling through zillow together. The process was worth it to finally found our home in the Highland Park neighborhood in St. Paul. Closing and moving happened in July 2022. We quickly realized we got so lucky with not only the house being perfect, but loving the neighborhood, and all the features of the area. Moving in to a house that we bought together was a big, some might say scary, step but Andy, Aaron, and Ali have enjoyed every moment of it. The years of dating saw Aaron and Ali through times of being sick, a job change, trips without one another, becoming presidents of our curling league, planning 200 person curling tournaments, and many more trials, all of which grew our relationship stronger.

In April 2024, Ali and Aaron packed up for a 16 day adventure in New Zealand! The plan was to spend 5 days together and then meet up with Ali's parents for more adventures driving around the country. The first couple days of the trip were jam packed with adventures including rafting through a glowworm cave, going on hikes, soaking in a natural hot spring, and a lot of good coffee. On April 29th, we woke up in wine country in Hastings, NZ. In the morning, Ali immediately knew THIS IS THE DAY when Aaron started playing a playlist of love songs that he only plays on Valentines Day. How do you act normal and play it cool when the other person is trying to act normal and play it cool but you know they are not acting normal?? The morning was spent going to a figgery for breakfast and coffee and walking around the shops of downtown Hastings. We took a quick hike around Maraetotara Falls before driving up the highest peak, Te Mata Peak, for a packed picnic lunch. The peak had a 360 view of the ocean, vineyards, and town. We found a quiet spot to eat our lunch and have a glass of wine before Aaron nervously asked Ali to become travel and adventure partners for life. The easy and quick yes was followed by wine tastings and the largest most filling dinner at a fancy restaurant.