It's almost our big day!

The Blue Line, Sartell: Where it all began. On a snowy February night in 2018, the Blue Line was having the annual Holiday Party for the staff. At this point, both of us had been working here for 7+ months together and had never even spoken a word to one another... not because Anna is shy (we all know that's not the issue), but because we had opposite work schedules and had only worked a handful of shifts together. At the party, I (Anna) was sitting with our mutual friend/co-worker, Ben. Ben asked if I thought "that guy at the bar was cute," *pointing at Nate,* and after I confirmed: "Yeah! TOTAL HOTTIE!!" Ben told me to go talk with Nate because we were "the only two 'world travelers' who work at The Blue Line," based solely off of his knowledge of me studying abroad in Spain the previous year, and Nate's visit to SE Asia around the same time.. Well, SPOILER ALERT: It was enough to get me interested! I took Ben's advice, walked confidently up to Nate at the bar, introduced myself, and started chatting, as I so passionately do. *Note: The World lost Ben- an amazing friend, co-worker, family member, and chef- to cancer in early 2020 (F*** Cancer!). Without Ben, this wedding wouldn't be happening, and we'll always remember him for his role in our love story. Rest in Paradise, Ben.* After talking Nate's face off.. and Nate getting a few words in, too, I had to rush off to CSBeats Acapella practice, and left without getting his number. (Nate was SOBBING at this realization, I assume). Well, little did he know- in a rehearsal room at CSB, I was telling all the gals about the cutie from the work party, how sweet he was, and how I wanted to keep talking, but I totally failed to get his number... So, the gals, being naturally gifted Private Investigators like women are, brainstormed how to get his number (eventually, I found it on a old work schedule in my photos. no deep "stalking" required). And Ba-Da-Bing Ba-Da-BOOM!! We had a number to the FULL name! Naturally, they encouraged me to cold-text him, and shoot my shot... and he responded!! Fast Forward --> First Date: Valentine's Day (NOT on purpose), after I had cancelled the original first date last minute due to my poor time management skills. Classic Anna. Since the rescheduled date happened to work best for both of us on "the most romantic night of the year", we decided a dive bar & beer was the perfect non-romantic first date, and Sal's Bar for Wednesday Night Big Mugs (IYKYK) was the perfect spot! The first date went well. Duh. :) At that point, I already knew I was moving to Colorado in July and we decided to "just keep things casual", and "not catch feelings." ... Well, here's another spoiler... WE CAUGHT FEELINGS! I moved out to Fort Collins in Summer 2018, and this marked the beginning of a year of long distance, building our relationship foundation, and having a bunch of fun! We fell in love with each other through a year full of traveling to each other every month for visits, and then together to Europe for our first anniversary. This long distance year also included LOTS of chatting and "hanging out" over FaceTime. Summer 2019 Nate moved to Fort Collins to join in on the CO fun while I started Grad School. Living in the same city was the best thing ever after that long year! Fast Forward through the next 2.5 years of grueling grad school & The Pandemic (because no-one needs to re-live that). In that time there were some amazing family trips & events together, lots of memories made, & of course there were ups, downs, highs, lows... you know! On August 19th, 2022, Nate pulled off an INCREDIBLE, sneaky, beautiful proposal! I was shocked, dropped some f-bombs of disbelief, & said "Yeah, DUH!!" Then, celebratory beer & pizza ensued with the family who were there to help him capture it on photo/video & aid in his sneaky, perfect, plan! & "The rest is still unwritten. -Natasha Bedingfield" -Anna *Soon To Be* Sobieck