Clay and Jessica met the old fashion way, at the bar :) Both of their parents had become avid bingo players and because of that, friends. The two were bound to meet eventually. Cher (Jessica's Mom) so nicely volunteered Jessica to drive Clay back to school after winter break to save his parents a trip to Mankato. After fighting it a little, Jessica caved and they packed all their stuff into little red and headed back to Mankato. At the time Jessica was attending Minnesota State University, Mankato and Clay was attending Bethany Lutheran College.

Clay officially asked Jessica to be his girlfriend on January 15th, 2015. Through the four plus years of dating, before becoming engaged, Clay and Jessica found a mutual love of Concerts, Summer, and Sports. They spent most of the time attending each other's soccer and baseball games. Clay and Jessica kept very busy with multiple vacations and tons of concerts.

Clay proposed to Jessica on February 17th, 2019 at Grand Casino Mille Lacs. The couple had just spent the weekend up at a family friends cabin and had planned to stop at the casino on the way home since it was Jim's (Jessica's Dad) birthday weekend. Clay disappeared almost immediately and Jessica thought nothing of it. While wandering the casino with her mom and other family members Jessica became impatient and sat down at her own machine. Come to find out later that they were all just stalling for Clay to go get his family and to build up the courage. As Jessica sat down at a machine, around the corner comes Clay. Clay tossed a bouquet at Jessica with a note that said "The Last Bouquet You'll Ever Catch". Clay got down on one knee and Jessica explicitly questioned what was happening. They were surrounded by their parents and other family members. It was perfect <3

Jessica was becoming a professional at catching bouquets. In months leading up to the big proposal, Jessica and Clay attended weddings for both of their cousins. At both of these weddings Jessica went all out to catch the bouquet during the bouquet toss. It became a running joke with family and friends. See the photos page for great after shots of these two events! Third times the charm <3