Dan and Anna met on May 27, 2017, Dan’s birthday! His friends, Alex and Paige, threw him a party in Traverse City and invited lots of friends, including Anna. Paige and Anna had played volleyball together in high school, and since Anna was home from college for the summer, she decided to go in the hopes of catching up with some old friends. Little did she know her future husband was the birthday boy. When Dan saw Anna, he knew he had to meet her. They first connected over a shared interest in science since Dan was studying chemistry and Anna was studying pharmacy. Quickly, they realized they could talk about pretty much anything together and spent the rest of the party getting to know each other. That summer, they became great friends but went their separate ways back to college in the fall. Fast forward to fall of 2019, Dan was living in Chicago and Anna was in her last year of pharmacy school. Through countless hours on the phone, they had grown much closer over the past year despite the miles between them. Anna went to visit Dan in Chicago, and he finally asked her to officially be his girlfriend after a date at the science museum. Fun fact: Anna shares her name and birthday with her grandma, who always told Anna that she was, “the best birthday gift”. Now, Dan says the same thing...😊

On September 3, 2022, Dan and Anna made a trip up north to visit family for Labor Day weekend. Dan's mom had arranged for some family photos to be taken at their house while everyone was home. After family photos by the water, they all went back inside except Dan and Anna. While the photographer was still within camera shot, Dan took Anna by the hand, professed his undying love for her, and proposed on one knee! Wowza! Then, to Anna's surprise, her parents arrived to join in celebrating the engagement.