For anyone that knows me (Maricris), online dating was not an option for me. I truly felt like I was meant to meet someone in person, through a friend, or during an event at church. Well after a lot of wrestling, I gave God three months. I know you're not supposed to negotiate with the Big Guy, but if I were going to step outside of my comfort zone and intentionally try and meet someone online, He had from January-March 2020. February 21, 2020 - I decided to download an app called Hinge, based on a friend's recommendation. I was open to chatting with Chris because he didn't start a conversation with a cheesy "Nice smile, beautiful" but rather commented on my profile note about my love for dancing at weddings. Fun, witty messages were exchanged throughout the day, but I was a woman who wanted to cut to the chase. Either we talk on the phone or in person soon - not in this chat box. So he replied that he would be open to that and offered up the idea of going to mass before we met. MASS!?!? Game over. We met the next day at Immaculate Heart of Mary for Saturday vigil mass then ended the night with live music and real talk at Anderson Pub and Grill next door. We haven't stopped talking ever since! A few weeks later, the world was entering a global pandemic and preparing to shut down. We decided then to keep the momentum going and become each other's bubble. Date nights couldn't include going to the movies or bowling. Rather they consisted of daily cooking/eating/talking/music listening/tv watching (and praying)! We quickly realized that if you can date someone through a pandemic, you can survive anything! The rest is history. His version to follow shortly...

Hinge message: 2/21/20 First date: 2/22/20 "Official" status: 3/21/20 Proposal: 12/20/21 Wedding: 6/24/22