We're getting married!

We met at the most unlikely of times and the story of how we met is in some ways harder to believe than the fact that we have spent the past six months trying to plan a wedding in the middle of a pandemic. In December 2017, Casey transitioned from teaching at Groves Academy with her beloved sister, Courtney, to a new teaching position at Madison Elementary. Little did she know that about two months later she would swipe right on Hans’ profile on an online dating app and “match” with a lawyer who left a dependable job at a Minneapolis law firm to pursue his dream of umpiring professional baseball. In January 2018, Hans, frustrated with how much he had left to learn after three years of practicing law, on the brink of losing his property management gig on Lake Minnetonka, and seeking to expand his horizons, took a leap of faith and went to the Minor League Baseball Umpire Training Academy in Vero Beach, Florida. After completing the MiLB Advanced Course on February 12, 2018, and questioning whether he truly wanted to spend the next 6-8 years of his life living out of a suitcase for the allure of ringing up minor league prospects every day for a couple thousand dollars a month, Hans returned to Minneapolis on February 13, 2018. While waiting for his 85lb bag of umpire gear to be spit out of the baggage carousel at MSP Airport Terminal 2, Hans began swiping on the online dating app, Bumble. Hans came across Casey’s profile and swiped right, figuring his odds of matching with a Bethel girl were higher than his odds of climbing through Minor League Baseball’s umpire ranks in less than six years. His phone immediately buzzed, notifying him that he and Casey were a “match.” The rest is history.

After talking on Bumble for about 10 days, Casey figured this lawyer turned property manager turned umpire was at least deserving of a chance. Hans and Casey’s first date was a mini-golf match at Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul. After a couple of ciders while waiting in line for their tee time, Hans had Casey believing that he was a Harvard law grad and capable of passing her father’s soon to come national fingerprint-based background check. Casey’s putting was questionable at times and she was at least 6 strokes behind Hans after the first 9 holes. But she didn’t quit, and she gained competence as the round went on. The 17th hole, also known as the “Grand Slam” hole, changed everything. On this hole, golfers have to place their golf ball on a baseball tee and use a plastic, foam-covered baseball bat to try and hit the golf ball through a small square in the wall that connects to a tube that shoots your ball out towards the hole. Casey went first and put an impressive swing on the golf ball, hit it through the square in the wall, and the ball shot out straight into the hole for a hole-in-one! Hans was up second and somehow (trying to impress Casey) swung too hard and pulled his golf ball just to the left of the square and it ultimately took him a couple more tries to even hit it through the square. This proved to be a pivotal moment both in the mini-golf round and in their early dating days. If Casey could swing the bat like that then maybe they were destined to take batting practice on the second date, or so Hans hoped. After Can Can Wonderland presented Hans with the Green Jacket, Casey agreed to meet him for some post-round tacos at Rusty Taco in Minneapolis to celebrate. As they arrived at Rusty Taco, snow began to fall and Casey’s father began texting her incessantly, urging her to end the date and get home before too much snow piled up. After having a great conversation over some delicious tacos, Hans and Casey said goodbye under the falling snow.

In early August 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hans decided it was time to pull the trigger. On the morning of September 26, 2020, Hans and Casey set out to hike the Bean and Bear Lake Loop in Silver Bay, Minnesota. It was a very foggy, chilly, and rainy fall day and, not knowing what lay ahead, Casey questioned the hike. Hans convinced Casey to go because, little did she know, he had an engagement ring in his pocket. A couple miles into the hike, hikers who were coming down from the top of the trail were expressing their disappointment that the picturesque view had been completely blocked by fog. As they got closer to the top, Hans began scouting out other hikers who might serve as good photographers to capture the proposal on camera. About one mile from the top, Hans and Casey met a couple who said they were searching for the trail that led to the overlook. Hans convinced them he knew where it was even though he truly didn’t. As they got to the top, they noticed that the other hikers weren’t exaggerating. Hans began worrying and wondering if he should hold off on the proposal given the conditions. After walking around the top of the cliff and lamenting the fog, the couple asked if Hans and Casey wanted their picture taken. This was the moment Hans had been waiting for, so he decided that he couldn’t pass it up. As Casey waited at the edge of the cliff, Hans handed his phone to the gal with his video camera open and whispered, “Hit the record button and just keep recording.” She gave Hans a weird look as he walked up next to Casey at the edge of the cliff and put his arm around her for a "picture." Then, seconds after Casey began to smile for what she thought was a picture, Hans reached into his back pocket, pulled out the ring, and got down on one knee. The gal filming gasped, as did Casey, tears flowed, and Casey said yes. Within minutes after the proposal, as fate would have it, the fog over Bean and Bear Lakes completely lifted!