We're getting married!

We matched on Tinder and started talking on February 18th, 2016. Eventually, Christine drove down to South County to meet him (from O'Fallon, MO). They met at the OSP Tap Haus where Brian was hanging with some friends. Christine walked in, yoga pants and a hoodie, and saw Brian at the bar in sweat pants and a hoodie, unshaven (unlike his Tinder pictures). He waved her over, and they sat at the table with the group. Dave (Duty) ordered some appetites for the table, and the girls at the table accused Christine of eating THEIR food (which she did not touch). The girls, who Christine thought at the time were some of Brian's close friends, sat at the table and told Christine that the date didn't look like it was going very well. So Christine got a little nervous since she thought it was going fine. Eventually the girls left and it was just Duty, Matt Lange (who only referred to Christine as "Tinder"), and Brian. So they all walked to the bar next door, Sports Pub, and took some tequila shots, made some jokes, and had a really good time. Eventually Duty and Lange left, and Brian asked if Christine could drive him home (aka his parents house). She agreed. When she dropped him off, as he was leaning over to give her a hug in the car, she said, "I'm not coming in with you," and of course he responded with, "I wasn't going to ask you." And somehow, Christine found herself wanting to talk to Brian all the time and then that following week they went on their first actual date, which of course is another interesting story.

Christine and Brian are very family oriented and wanted something special for the engagement ring. Christine's maternal grandparents, Lollie and Grandy, as they are called, have been together for almost 60 years. Brian's parents have been together for almost 40 years. Brian's maternal grandmother left Brian her wedding band after she passed, and her and her husband were together for over 50 years. So with all of this, they decided to design a ring that had something to remember each lasting couple. Lollie graciously donated a beautiful diamond for the center stone. Nancy, Brian's mom, donated her old engagement ring, which the gold was melted down for the engagement ring band, and one of the diamonds was used in the halo. Lastly, Brian's grandmother's ring was cleaned up and will be used as the wedding band. Anytime they look at the rings, they will be reminded of the amazing couples that have made it through thick and thin that made the rings possible. In February 2020, they went to a jewelers to design a ring. Then COVID-19 hit and the jewelers temporarily closed, and he ring creation was put on hold. Finally, in April, they were able to go pick up the competed ring. And then it sat... on their bedroom dresser... right in front of their bed. Christine saw the bag with the ring in it every time she went into the bedroom. And she waited... Little did she know, Brian was trying to plan a proposal, but all of his ideas were being ruined due to COVID-19. Eventually, he just decided (with some convincing from Christine) that it doesn't have to be an extravagant proposal. So on Thursday, July 16th, Christine got home form work, and Brian kept bugging her to take the dogs on a walk. After some persistence, she agreed. After the walk, in front of their house with their dogs, he said, "Do you want to get married?" Of course she responded with, "Are you serious?" so he pulled out the ring from his pocket, in which she responded with, "OF COURSE!"

First, we want to thank Lisa and Jim Schallom, Ned and Barbara Lips, and Joe and Nancy Ilg for their endless help and support through the whole wedding planning process. We also want to thank Ana Wexler for taking our amazing engagement pictures, and Oliver Wexler for taking care of Loki & Rhea during the photo shoot so Ana could work her magic. We want to thank Lollie Bradley and Nancy Ilg for the contributions to Christine's ring. We could not imagine a better ring! Last, but not least, we want to thank our family and friends for all of the help we've received and been offered to ensure this is the best day possible. We are truly blessed to have all of these amazing people in our lives!