Let's take us back to when Joel and Elly were in 7th grade, 2005? It was just another day for Elly, hanging out with her best friend Cece when Stephen and Joel came over to the Cool Tosa House. They all spent the day together being a bunch of dorks. Now, Elly doesn't have any memory of that day but Joel remembers it like it was yesterday. Fast forward to August 17th, 2013. It was Cece's 21st birthday so naturally it was a grand party for all to attend. Joel was working at Blue's Egg at the time with Cece's boyfriend Tyler. Tyler invited Joel to the party where the 7th grade friendship was rekindled. Elly pressured Joel into trying a moonshine cherry (really poor choice) and then everyone made moves to go to Club Brady. They hung out all night, drinking drinks and playing darts and eventually went back to Cece's apartment where they "kept it Christian." They went on their first date a few days later to Cafe Hollander and the rest is history. Joel went back to school at Loyola in Chicago and Elly stayed in Milwaukee. It didn't keep the two away from each other, Elly went down to Chicago almost every weekend to visit. Many shenanigans happened with Ryan, Brandon, Janelle, Emily and so many others. Joel graduated in May and then moved to Reno, making it a true long distance relationship but not for long! The two discussed and decided they couldn't be apart any longer. Elly made the move out west and the relationship flourished even more. They met wonderful friends and an even more wonderful dog, Patron! This is where the adventure really began. They ended up moving back to Milwaukee with the old pup just in time to meet their new niece Finely Mae. They moved from apartment to apartment until 2019 when they made the largest purchase of their lives, a house of their very own. With a house and a dog in their back pocket, Joel mustered up the courage to finally ask Elly to be his wife. Stay tuned for the next chapter, beginning August 8th, 2020.