JC and Jess first met at St. Joseph's Catholic church in Moorhead where they both attended youth events. A couple years passed and when Jess walked into her dorm on move-in day, the person she saw working at the dorm desk was none other than JC! Both taken back they gave a friendly "Hi!" and "You're living here too?!" The year went on and they became close friends. From eating at the dining hall, to JC scaring Jess (at least once a day), to intramural sports at MSUM, JC soon realized that he cared for Jess, but she was oblivious. JC finally decided that he needed to tell Jess how he felt but she typically wasn't alone, and if she was, her door was usually closed. Because of these things, JC told himself IF she was alone and IF her door happened to be open, he would tell her how he felt. He walked past her room and sure enough, Jess was alone AND her door was open. So JC knocked on the door and after a few moments, he told her how he felt and that he was interested in getting to know her on a deeper level. Jess, totally taken off guard, knew she wanted to say yes, but also knew she needed a moment to think. She asked if she could think about it and let him know later (probably one of the worst things she could've said/he could've heard). The next day Jess agreed that she too would love to get to know him more. After going on multiple dates, they knew they wanted to date, and that this relationship would be great. Little did they know (or maybe they did) that they had just found their forever person. :) They officially started dating on February 24, 2015. The next 3 years of their relationship were filled with laughter and tears, big and little moments, challenges and celebrations, long distance, living in the same building, traveling to New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Hawaii, and many states in-between, but through it all, their love remained constant. They both knew within a few months of dating that they wanted to marry each other but when the time was right.

We had decided to take a trip to the cities for our 3 year anniversary. While Jess thought they were going out of town as a change for the weekend, JC had something else up his sleeve (literally). That day, they had plans to go to Minnehaha Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the Cheesecake Factory. JC had been planning this surprise for years and when the day came, they realized that there was a bad winter storm coming to the cities. JC knew that if they didn't make it to where he had planned to propose, it would ruin the special moment he had been preparing for (although Jess wouldn't have cared where he proposed). JC suggested that since the weather could be bad, they should start early and head to one place, saving the other one for another day. Jess agreed so JC suggested the Stone Arch Bridge as it was a great view of the city, said to be beautiful, and neither of them had been there before. They got there and it was indeed BEAUTIFUL! After walking along the bridge and reading about it's history, they started walking toward the car. On the way back they stopped once more to look at the beautiful bridge, dam, and city. Jess knew something was up, but couldn't quite figure it out. JC had been acting weird since they got here, but she thought, "Maybe he just really loves the bridge/history?". After a few moments JC started telling Jess all he loved about her and them as a couple, how he loved going on adventures with her, solving life's problems, growing in their faith together, and most importantly, their love for each other (obviously in more detail). It wasn't until he reached in his pocket that Jess realized what was happening. As he pulled out a ring box he said "I guess what I'm trying to say is..." and knelt down to say "Jessica Rose McNutt, will you marry me?". Jess was so surprised and excited and already crying she said "YES!". After taking a moment to calm down, and once witnesses stopped clapping, they snapped a picture and the rest is history. :)