Jon tapped Jared on the shoulder at an Oakland dance party aptly named "Hella Gay". 'Wanna dance?' he asked, and Jared thought he looked cute (and awfully familiar...) We had our first date at a vegan restaurant and quickly discovered our shared values: nature, food, art, friendship... there was something there. But in just a few months, Jon would be off to grad school in Seattle, so we agreed to just enjoy each other's company while we could. Jared eventually realized where he recognized Jon from. They had matched two years prior on OKCupid (and Tinder too!) The algorithm did good this time. As planned, Jon moved away, and we trusted that we’d each find out for ourselves if this relationship was worth holding onto. Weeks went by missing each other and talking on the phone. Eventually, we fell into a rhythm of visiting one another almost monthly. We became closer and closer, despite geography. Long distance turned to extremely short distance when Jon came back to Oakland and moved in with Jared just a couple months before a pandemic lockdown. We ultimately found a balance, not just in how we wanted to decorate our space, but in the overall cadence of our lives together. The following years we built a wonderful community in the Bay Area and visited our friends across the country. We explored new places like Japan, Mexico and Croatia and backpacked the Sierras, Banff and Patagonia. And at the end of 2022 we scouted out a plot of land and moved to our new home in Sebastopol, CA. Now, we’re settling into this sweet plot of land we’re calling J&J’s Plant Ranch, building our native plant nursery and hobby farm. We are so so grateful to have you join us here as we end our epically long engagement and begin a new chapter, which hopefully looks a lot like the last- full of adventures and good food and loving company. XOXO, J&J