We're getting married!

By the time our wedding day rolls around, we will have officially been together for just about 3 years, but we originally met on Tinder 10 years ago. I know, I know - but neither of us were on Tinder for the reasons most people are, and during those few months that first summer, we just got to know each other. Being strangers from the internet, we made sure to meet in public and had our first date at an ice cream shop... then go-karting, sushi, and more. We had a little summer fling before quietly parting ways when Becca went back to UMass Amherst for her junior year. We said we'd do something when she came back home for Columbus Day weekend, and we stayed in touch for a little while, but ultimately it fizzled out before we could see each other again. Over the years that followed, Jake faithfully liked almost every one of Becca's instagram posts and sent a private message occasionally, usually about her dogs. Jake popped up on Becca's timeline here and there, and she always wondered what he was up to. It always felt like there was some unfinished business between us and "what could have been", but life took us in different directions for several years. It was the cliché "one that got away," without ever giving "us" a real chance. Flash forward about eight years... Becca moved back home, her beloved golden retriever Mimzy got sick, and Jake sent a private message again to express his condolences, not knowing yet that Becca was in the midst of moving back to the area for the forseeable future. We kept chatting here and there throughout those grueling first weeks of Mimzy's diagnosis and treatments, and eventually Jake asked if he could take Becca and her sick dog out for ice cream. We made plans to go back to where it all began... but Mother Nature intervened and that night was cold and raining, so we got dinner at a restaurant in that plaza instead, without Mimzy. We reconnected over dinner, Becca cried on Jake's shoulder about Mimzy's terminal diagnosis at only 6 years old, and we walked around talking for hours afterwards because neither of us wanted the night to end. Becca told everybody that would listen about just how lovely Jake was. Jake's friends and coworkers noticed a change in him too, asking about his new "Boo." As the weeks went on, we kept making plans and we texted pretty much all day, every day. We did take Mimzy out for ice cream the week after that dinner, walked around until she got too tired, then dropped her off at home and went for a drive - we never wanted to stop hanging out. Jake quickly assumed the role of "dog dad" - laying on the floor to hand-feed Mimzy when she hadn't eaten anything on one of her bad days, tolerating the antics of the adolescent border collie Bubbles, and willingly accompanying Becca and Bubbles on long walks and mountain hikes. The week after that, we could no longer pretend that we were just friends - we went on our real "second first date" and we've pretty much known ever since then that we'd end up here one day. Jake seamlessly fit into the chaos and helped Becca through the transition of moving home, changing jobs, and losing Mimzy in rapid succession. We talked marriage and babies on that second first date, and about our goals and hopes for the future. Becca's mom started calling Jake son-in-law almost as soon we started dating "for real," and he quickly won her dad over with talk of hunting. We bought a house together shortly after our first anniversary, got engaged just before our second, and are now getting married at year three. Call it fate, or karma, or whatever you believe in... but we believe we were led back into each other's lives for a reason. Our timing wasn't right the first time around, but that invisible string made sure our paths crossed again when we were ready. So, yeah...here we are, 10 years later, finally committing to our forever, and we're so excited to see where else life takes us.