Arrival: 4:00pm Please allow extra time for finding parking. Refer to the travel tab for more information. Ceremony: 4:30pm
Our story started with a swipe on Bumble. Since the girl has to send the first message, I went with, “I’ve never seen How I Met Your Mother,” because his profile said he quotes it way too much (which he absolutely does :D). That one line turned into hours of easy conversation and a lot of smiling at our phones. After talking for a while, we spontaneously decided to meet in person for a quick “hi” at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden — little did we know that would one day be the place we’d get engaged. We can't wait to tell our kids the story of how their dad met me...and how it all started with How I Met Your Mother.
From that first day at the sculpture garden, everything just felt easy. We officially started dating a couple of months later and pretty quickly became each other’s person. During our three years of dating, we lived about 50 minutes apart (on a good day) on opposite sides of the city. That distance made every weekend, dinner date, and quiet night in together feel extra special. Whether it was a night out with good food and drinks or staying in with takeout and our favorite shows, time together never felt ordinary. Even though the drive wasn’t always fun, it reminded us just how much we valued being together. Over the years, we grew a lot through all the highs and lows. Brendan was my steady encourager and the calm of the relationship. He’s patient, kind, and somehow always knows how to make everything feel okay. I like to think my confidence, silliness, and occasional sass and sarcasm keep things interesting for him. Together, we’ve found a balance that just works that is full of laughter, support, and a lot of love. We’ve built so many memories like trying new restaurants, finding “our” go-to spots, and staying up way too late watching just one more episode. We’re not exactly the spontaneous type, but somehow together we’ve become pros at turning small moments into our favorite stories. Today, it’s still that same mix of laughter, love, and calm that makes us feel right at home with each other and it’s what brought us back to where it all began for the next chapter of our story.
Brendan and I met at the sculpture garden after work for what I thought was just a cute walk and some good dinner. The garden was quieter than usual after a rainy afternoon, which made for a peaceful stroll as we reminisced about how we first met there. Then, Brendan completely shocked me when he got down on one knee… to pull out a...CHAPSTICK! Yes, that’s right — he faked me out! After a few moments and a shocked, sassy and stunned Mia, he got back down on one knee and asked the actual question. It was funny, heartfelt, and so perfectly us.