We found each other on Eharmony in December of 2017, but our first date was January 6, 2018 after the holidays. We chose one of Joe's favorite restaurants in Palatine, Emmetts Brewing Co. As usual, Joe showed up a few minutes late! Some great food and beer was met with some great conversation. Before we knew it, we realized we had hit off on something special. We decided we couldn't let our night end just because dinner was over, so we headed over to the Brunswick Zone for a few games of bowling! 🎳 After a couple games we STILL weren't ready to call it a night. So we went over to the bowling alley bar for another drink. The conversation kept going and going, until we were forced to leave since the bowling alley was closing. Only then did the night finally end. Less than 12 hours later, Joe got a text while at the gym that Amie wanted to meet up again! Our second date was that night, and the rest was history!

We planned a vacation around the beginning of 2019 to celebrate our first year together. We chose the snowy paradise of Iceland. On the second day of our trip we set out to explore the city of Reykjavik. We found a moment alone, away from other tourists while walking through the Einar Jónsson sculpture garden. In the shadow of the famous Hallgrímskirkja church, Joe took advantage of the peaceful moment in the sculpture garden and popped the question! In the glow of the setting sun of the early afternoon, Amie said yes!

Beaten back by this unsuspected pandemic, we were disappointed but not defeated. In early May of 2020 we made the difficult but appropriate choice to postpone our wedding festivities until June 19, 2021. However, we already had our hearts set on June 20, 2020 being our official wedding day. So thanks to the kindness of the folks at All Seasons Apple Orchard, they allowed us to host a small parents-only ceremony where we were able to be legally married on that summer solstice as we originally intended. It was beautiful in its own way and we wouldn't trade that day for anything. We had the pleasant surprise to return to our home where our family was waiting to greet us in our cul de sac outside our house, where we got to toast champagne and see everyone. Although we are excited to properly celebrate with everyone this year, June 20, 2020 will forever be special in it’s own unique way.