One weekend in February of 2016, one of Lauren's friends from Benedictine University asked her if she was up for a quick trip to Western Illinois University. Her friend had some connections there and though it might be fun to go visit the school. Lauren quickly agreed and they made their way by Amtrak train to Macomb, Illinois. It was a normal night out with his buddies for Rob. He was a part of the Theta Chi fraternity at Western Illinois, so a fun night with the guys on a Saturday was not unusual for him. Him and his best friend, Jake Batusich, spent their evening at the fraternity house. Later in the night, Lauren and her friend arrived at the fraternity house to meet up with a mutual friend who was dating a fraternity member. The girls were quick to join the fun and mingle with everyone there. The girls were up next to play cup pong against the winners of the night who happened to be Rob and Jake. Rob and Lauren locked eyes from across the room and smiled. It was truly love at first sight. The rest of the night they spent talking and getting to know one another. The connection between them was evident from the very beginning. After some time talking, they discovered they both worked at a bank and lived only 40 minutes from each other back home. As the night came to an end, Lauren hugged Rob goodbye and put her phone number in his phone...guess he really didn't have a choice. Around 11 am the next morning, Lauren received a text from an unsaved number that read, "Hey, it's Rob! Did you make it back okay?" They talked on the phone every single day since they met.

Most of Lauren and Rob's dating relationship has been long distance. Many hours were spent traveling by train or car to spend time together. Some weekends Lauren took the Amtrak train to Western Illinois where they would enjoy pizza dates, naps and nights out with friends. Others were spent driving in the car to Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois where they would spend time shopping, picking out movies from Family Video and experimenting with new food recipes. Sometimes the distance was rough on them. In the summer of 2018, Rob spent 3 months in St. Louis completing his internship for his law enforcement degree. They rarely saw each other so Facetime and texting was their only form of communication that summer. But that didn't extinguish the fire in their hearts. In October of 2018, Rob moved to Davenport, Iowa after graduating from the police academy where he got his first job as a police officer for the city. Lauren and his family were so proud of his accomplishments and were so excited to see him experience adult life. Over the past year, Lauren and Rob celebrated their 3 year anniversary together. They have flourished individually and together as a couple. Lauren often drives to Davenport every other weekend to spend some time with Rob at his apartment. They love to watch classic movies (still rented from Family Video), try new restaurants around the city and visit Grandma Oliger (Mother of the Groom's mother) and Uncle Bill Oliger. Some of the things they enjoy doing together is grocery shopping at Hyvee and Aldi, going to mass together on Sunday and cooking. Lauren and Rob can't wait to continue their story together, but this time as a married couple.

Lauren arrived at the Cormier household on that Thursday evening. Rob was dressed and ready for their date. He told her that he picked a place to eat but it was a surprise. They pulled up to Outback Steakhouse and Lauren was thrilled. She had never eaten there before and was excited to enjoy a nice dinner with her boyfriend. Rob told her she could order anything she wanted off the menu (even a drink). After dinner, Lauren suggested that they stop at Goodwill and look at movies in the DVD section. The two had recently started their own movie collection at Rob's apartment so they were always looking for more. Rob was strangely rushing them through the store. He said they had to leave soon because he had another surprise for her. They paid for their movies and got back into the car to drive to the next stop in their story. They pulled up to Crystal Lake Main Beach as the sun was just going down. It had rained earlier in the day so the air was cool and the sky was clear. Confused about why they were here, Lauren walked alongside Rob as they headed toward a swinging bench. It was a beautiful sight. The sunset was all kinds of bright red, orange and yellow. It reminded Lauren of the night Rob asked her to be his girlfriend back in 2016 under the same type of sunset. They rocked on the bench and marveled at God's beautiful creation. Moments later, Rob said "Ok, I'm going to give you your surprise now. I'm going to do a rendition of The Office." Now Lauren was very confused. Out of a gift bag, Rob pulled out a binder ring with photos attached. The song "Open Your Eyes" by Snow Patrol began to play. The photos included pictures of them throughout their dating life, maps of places they had been and things they love. Then, Rob suggested they take a walk down the beach as the sun went down. After taking a few steps, he wrapped his arms around her, got down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring. She said yes! And so forever began...