we're getting married!

John and Jess met in the summer of 2011 at Hope Summer Repertory Theatre (HSRT) in Holland, Michigan. Jess was a part of the costume crew and John was an acting intern. However, it wasn’t until the summer of 2013 that their story truly began. Jess was now running the costume shop at HSRT. She also happened to be living with one of John’s good friends from college, Alyssa. John was bumming around Brooklyn, trying to kill 2 months before he began rehearsals for the Broadway tour of the actor-musician show, Once. On the night of his 23rd birthday, John texted Alyssa to see if he could crash on her couch if he visited his old stomping grounds in Holland, Michigan. He also tried his best to act casual as he added to the end of his message… “You’re living with Jessica Leslie, right? I always had a crush on her.” That summer set them on the path towards today. It weaved them through 2.5 years of long-distance, 7 countries, multiple trips to THE BOWL, and 2 apartments on their way to 1 life and 1 perfect puppy (hi Oscar!).

On February 16th, 2020, John, Jess, & Oscar headed upstate for a long weekend. They planned to do a hike at Lake Minnewaska, go to a famous wine store nearby, & enjoy some much needed time away from the big city. Little did Jess know, John was totally freaking out about the impending proposal. According to online sources, their hike was a 6-mile, “out-and-back” layout. Online reviews made it seem as if the halfway point where hikers turned around offered a stunning view of a waterfall. John settled on that, not knowing the waterfall was actually located within the first 5 minutes of the hike & would be swamped with other hikers. So when he found himself in a crowd staring at the waterfall where he thought he’d be down on one knee, John tried to play it cool. He decided to improvise. With the ring burning a hole in the bottom of his backpack, John proceeded on the rest of the hike as if everything was normal. Jess led the way with Oscar on a leash (& wearing tiny yellow booties to protect his little paws from the icy path). John kept his eyes open for a picturesque place to pop the question but nothing quite scratched the itch. As fate would have it, the couple rounded a corner right before the turnaround point & the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, revealing a bridge stretching over a rushing river. As Jess stood looking over the water, John knelt down & dug out the ring from his backpack, feeling the weight of the previous 6.5 years, the memories, the hardship, the teamwork… & when he finally called her name, she turned around, saw him down on one knee, & uttered the words that will echo for the rest of their lives: “Oh no.” She immediately turned back around & fell silent. John blinked, unsure of how to proceed. All he could manage was, “I have something to say. Can you please turn around?” When she finally faced him, tears fogged her glasses, her grin sparkling in the winter sunlight. And the rest, they say, is history.