It's amazing how one decision can change the rest of your life. That decision for me was to become a DJ in college, which led to years of DJing weddings, which ultimately led to purchasing a shut down school building with the dream of turning it into a wedding venue. That decision for Ella was to become a baker, which led to her making beautiful wedding cakes, which ultimately led to her reaching out to me to become the go-to vendor for wedding cakes at the old school mentioned above, The Anderson Center. I was working on the school with my family Labor Day weekend, and told some random girl she could come take a tour, thinking she was just another graduate of AJHS who wanted to reminisce. What I was not prepared for was the beauty that walked through the door, with confidence and composure, to pitch her business ideas. I was not only impressed; I was speechless. There was an instant spark between us; her parents told me later that they noticed it too. The next day Ella reached out to invite anyone working at the school to her family’s Labor Day picnic. They showed me around town, gave me a tour of Appleton (location for the engagement pics), and made me feel like part of the family. At one point her mom even mentioned us getting married (yes, on day 2, I guess it was already that obvious). Even still, I never dreamed I would actually marry this girl; much less take her on a first date. I was quite sure she was out of my league….that is until I talked to her cousin Claudia. She assured me that Ella would at least give me a chance, I just had to man up and ask her out. YIKES. As I was driving home, I thought about what Claudia said, and decided to go for it. “What’s the worst that could happen? I’ll probably never see this girl again otherwise…oh wait. I may never see this girl again otherwise.” For some reason, that thought hit a nerve somewhere deep inside of me, and I knew not calling was not an option. So I called her, and the rest is history.