It only took a few dates after connecting on Bumble for us to know something was special about this. We had such a great time talking on our second date at Stonetower Winery that we completely lost track of time and stayed past closing! By date four at Delaplane Cellars, Jackie realized she felt like she was talking to a best friend whenever she was around Jon. Every moment felt easy and we constantly laughed as we shared our favorite places with each other. A last minute decision to buy tickets to TLC at Wolf Trap led to Jon’s first time ever at the venue. He soon realized just how much Jackie loved the place after working there for a decade - and learned more than he’d ever dreamt of knowing about it!

Distance has been an ever-present part of our relationship. The night before Jon left for two weeks in Portugal with the Guard, he knew he didn’t want to chance Jackie being off the market when he got back, so he asked her to be his girlfriend. Just a few months later, a real challenge began: Jon was off to two months of Air Force Civil Engineering School in Ohio. With an upcoming deployment, we knew we had to see if we could handle the distance. We made time to talk every day, and Jackie even flew out to visit him halfway through training (thanks, Kris, for the selfless birthday sacrifice!). We learned together how to navigate the miles and live life around them. Most recently, Jon flew to Finland for an officer exchange program just hours after we closed on our new home!

We've learned that we’re a great traveling pair and that adventures are always just around the corner when we're together. We celebrated making it through CE school with a New Year’s trip to Key West, where we immediately got into shenanigans, like photobombing a group's photo (and making new friends in the process!). It seemed like when we were together, we somehow always managed to find more than we were searching for. Key West became a turning point in our relationship when a snowstorm in DC canceled our flight home. Instead of panicking—even though Jackie needed to fly to Wisconsin the next day for a family celebration of life—we calmly problem-solved: securing a rental car, weighing our options, and chancing a drive to Miami in hopes of catching a larger, more snow-equipped plane the next day. When that flight was canceled just as we were checking our bags, we adapted. Jackie booked a direct flight to Madison and Jon helped her find winter clothes and boots at the mall. It wasn’t the plan, but it was perfectly us—rolling with reality, together. That trip proved we can face anything, always finding an "unexpected gem" and a great story by simply wandering through life together.

Less than a year after our first date, we knew—we were building a life together. With Jon’s 2026 deployment on the horizon, we leaned into our planner instincts, broke out the Gantt charts, and mapped out a bold goal: get engaged, buy a home, and get married—all before spring 2026. It’s been a whirlwind and a reminder of why we want to spend our lives together. We’ve tackled each milestone with heart, humor, and teamwork. We found and closed on our new home in less than 10 weeks, and now, we’re counting down the days until we celebrate our marriage with you.