How did a girl from upstate New York and a boy from Southern California, meet and fall in love in a small mountain town? On none other than Instagram. Very modern century of them. Alanna was living in Denver at the time, Jon in Durango. Jon says he stumbled upon Alanna’s instagram, on a post where she was talking about snowboarding and he says he loved her voice. Alanna thinks he needs his hearing checked since an upstate NY accent is less than charming. Alanna noticed the like and went to go explore Jon’s page. She found it was filled with outdoor adventure and beautiful shots from his expeditions. After scrolling quite a bit she thought, wow what handsome guy. She liked a few of his pics to see if he noticed, which he did, and they went back and forth for a few days, not expecting much from this. Alanna out for drinks one night with friends, got up the courage, shall we say liquid courage, to message Jon. She said “I figured you were going to message me eventually but I’m from NY and I’m quite impatient. Who are you and where have you been my whole life?” To which Jon responded, “Searching and looking for a girl like you!” No joke, this is really their first exchange. They messaged a bit on instagram and then exchanged numbers. It didn’t take long before they were talking on the phone for hours and FaceTiming after work until they went to bed. Over the course of the next two weeks they got to know each other quite well, they talked about everything. Jon finally said, I have to meet you, I have to know if this is real. So after work Friday he drove 6 HOURS and drove to Denver to meet Alanna. They both were so nervous but they knew they had found someone special. Alanna says when Jon got out of the car, she knew immediately that this was her person and everything she had been looking for! And the rest is history. Four years later and they can’t wait to tie the knot with family and friends!

The morning of April 30th was just another Friday to Alanna, to Jon it was the day he knew would change everything. Thinking she was meeting her friends for drinks at a local brewery, Alanna spent the day working from home, looking forward to seeing them later. Luckily work was busy all day so she didn't notice Jon busy in the garage, packing the truck full of items. It's important to know that they both work from home and share a truck, so Jon had to be extra cautious and secret. At around 4:00, Jon tells Alanna he's meeting his colleagues for drinks at a park and he'll see her later, off he goes. Her friend Brooke picks her up and they head over the the Animas Brewing. Brooke suggests they take cute pics by the cherry blossoms on the river. They park, Alanna says they should have a beer first but Brooke says, no pictures first! Still completely oblivious to what's about to happen, Alanna walks over the the park, adjacent to the brewery. She sees a man standing in the middle of a pavilion, with a huge sign that says "Alanna will you marry me?" At first she thinks, oh that's so cute, someone is getting engaged! It takes her a few to realize, WAIT that's JON standing there! And that says ALANNA is getting engaged! As soon as she realizes, Brooke says, look to your right, and there are all of her friends watching in amazement! She immediately starts running towards Jon, screaming in excitement!! There he is, in the middle of a pile or rose petals, waiting to ask her the big question. Jon gets down on one knee and says "Alanna it's finally our turn, we've waited a long time for this. You are my best friend. Will you be my wife?" Alanna's knees are shaking and she's crying and hysterically shrieking. She exclaims yes and they embrace!! Jon is relieved he pulled it off and Alanna is still in complete shock that all of this really just happened! They celebrated at a local bar after with all of their closest friends. It was quite literally a dream come true!