It was October 3rd, 2016 when Steph, who had just started medical school, got a match with a guy from Colorado in town on business. She figured "why not?". Besides, he had a cute picture of him singing in a band and had offered to buy her dinner and take her salsa dancing. Who could say no to that? On October 5th, she was celebrating her best friend Luke's birthday at one of her favorite Pittsburgh bars when suddenly someone started hollering at the door. "Hey guys- check out the new SHOES I got for my DATE on Saturday!" A glance sideways confirmed the worst of her suspicions. It was him (and his taste in shoes was not very good). To make matters worse, he unknowingly sat *right* next to her. Luckily, Steph had already left before John had time to figure things out and make some stupid and embarrassing joke. How to Win Over Steph in 5 Easy Dates Date 1 - Go With Your Gut (October 8th) Our first date might have had a few hiccups. John had to take a coworker's recommendation for a restaurant and, of no surprise to anyone who knows her, Steph didn't like it. He also didn't know how to salsa dance. He *did* go take group lessons a few days before. But, he *didn't* verify that the club actually did salsa on the night of their date. As it turns out, they did not. To top it all off, he spent dinner using his (usually foolproof) tactic of relentlessly interrogating her about her life story. Oddly enough, that was not how she expected to spend their first date together. Thankfully, they salvaged the evening with dancing and singing at Howl at the Moon. Despite his many mistakes, it turns out John managed to pass the test: he bought her dinner, he offered to share his food, and he spun her around on the dance floor. Maybe Stephanie isn't so complicated after all. Date 2 - Be Sweet (October 9th) John spent the following morning gushing to his coworkers about how he had met the most amazing girl ever and that she just had to be the one. After hearing this, his coworkers pressed him. He only had a few days in town. If he really thought she might be the one, didn't he have to take a chance? And so he did. Their second date began with the magic words Steph is always waiting to hear: "I'll buy you some Antney's ice cream". Dates 3 & 4 - Pay Attention (October 10th & 11th) Steph had a test coming up in a few days and didn't really have time for this new distraction. Nevertheless, John persisted. He met her skepticism with 3 simple words: "Do you really want to sit here while I study?" "In a heartbeat." And he did. Perhaps... too enthusiastically? Steph’s pretty sure he likes Sketchy more than her. Date 5 - Make An Offer She Can't Refuse (October 12th) Time was up. John's flight back to Colorado was the next day and it seemed their love story would have to come to an end. They had only just met and Steph couldn't imagine herself managing a long distance relationship while trying to get her bearings in medical school. So he went all in. Just before they said their final goodbyes, he snuck a bouquet of flowers, a love letter, and a plane ticket onto her desk (Southwest so that she could change it of course!). They’ve been in love ever since. Their favorite hobby together (other than a completely unhealthy obsession with their dog, Bandit) is moving back-and-forth between Colorado and Pennsylvania. Steph went to Colorado the summer after they met, then John moved to Pittsburgh the summer after that. Then they moved to Denver for her residency, and then Philadelphia for her fellowship. It was December 10th, 2022 when John finally proposed. He and Steph’s friends in residency conspired together to have everyone go to a concert with local musicians in Denver. What Steph didn’t know was that toward the end of the night John would take the stage and propose both with a song and penguin box filled with rainbow pebbles they’d collected in Glacier National Park together. The video is in the gallery! We can't wait to celebrate with you!