How Elita and John met can be summarized in one word: Hinge. Hinge is known as, “the dating app designed to be deleted.” *Not a sponsored post* Elita messaged first, replying with a white heart emoji to John’s prompt about seeking a woman that, above all, has a relationship with Jesus. For John it was fate, as silly as that might sound, because the previous day he had found Elita on Hinge but the algorithm refreshed before he could think of the perfect opener. Their first date was spent at Loose Park in Kansas City. It lasted five hours. How John was denied a kiss at the end still baffles him despite saying please (twice). The couple would later be back at this very park for many more dates. John knows just where to find Elita when they meet up there to this day--at their favorite bench overlooking the rose garden. It's a beautiful garden, but not as beautiful as her.

The story of the proposal begins on Christmas Eve 2020 in Wisconsin during winter break at Elita's parents' home. John asked Elita to stay upstairs for five minutes despite there being leftover potatoes in the kitchen (and she was hungry). Five minutes turned into twenty as John described to Elita's parents every reason he loves their daughter. He asked for their blessing. "You are that one in a million," her mom said. "I think we're just tickled pink for the two of you." Her parents did not know John recorded the conversation. He spent the next two months designing a custom ring. He began crafting a video that laced the audio from that conversation with the instrumental to "Tuesdays" by artist, Jake Scott. John carefully placed photos and videos of their relationship to line up perfectly to the lyrics and conversation. With the video done, and the ring in hand, he just had to ask. With the help of Elita's best friend and colleague at the school, John organized a fake faculty meeting to be held on TUESDAY March 9th 2021, just days before the couple would leave for Florida on her spring break. Elita, completely caught off guard, teared up as the video played in the school auditorium. Text on screen at the end called for Ms. Bohn to come to the stage, where John came from behind the curtain and got down on one knee. She said yes.