We met online through Hinge in November 2024. Jonathan first heard about Hinge from some strangers after a concert a couple of weeks earlier, and the rest is history. From the moment he sent that first message, he knew he wanted to ask Jess out, and he did, right then and there. Our first date was just two days later, on November 26th, at Royal Coffee Roasters in the Village at Meridian. It was a chilly fall day, and even though Jonathan arrived early, the coffee shop was packed. We ended up sitting outside by the fireplace, talking and laughing as if we’d known each other forever. When we left, Jessyka glanced back and thought, “This feels different.” Jonathan walked away thinking it had been so much fun and that he couldn’t wait to see her again. Our next few dates featured ice skating, rock climbing, and bowling, each one better than the last. By our third date, Jonathan already knew he wanted to marry Jess.

After dating for about three weeks, Jess suggested we go out for ice cream. “I was nervous before getting there. I could tell something had changed, but I didn’t know what yet.” — Jess We met at Stella’s in downtown Nampa on a Sunday evening. Jonathan had just finished the carpentry work on a neighborhood he’d been working on for months. We talked and played card games for hours. Right before we were about to leave, Jonathan pulled out a small box with earrings inside… and asked Jess to be his girlfriend.

On a rainy Saturday in early February, we were driving back to Jonathan’s apartment after spending the day together. Jonathan had just sung “I Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and in that moment, he looked over at Jess and said “I love you” for the very first time. And yes, Jess said it right back.

Shortly after we started dating, Jonathan suggested we take a road trip together. We rented separate hotel rooms near Seattle and drove up to try indoor skydiving. It was such a fun adventure, and a great opportunity to see how we problem-solve and navigate challenges together. We learned a lot about how each of us handles unexpected moments, and we realized how important it is to both of us to be treated with kindness and respect, especially when things don’t go according to plan. This trip showed us that our relationship was exactly what we had both been looking for.

In late May, we started talking about our long-term timeline. We both knew we wanted to get married, but we wanted to plan the wedding for a time when Jess wasn’t teaching, so we decided on the following summer. Then, on July 4th, while on a family camping trip, Jonathan asked Ken for his blessing to marry Jess.

In the middle of August, we realized we didn’t want to wait until June to get married, we were confident we were meant to be together. Jess was living alone in Middleton and Jonathan was working long days in carpentry, and it was becoming harder and harder to find time to spend together. We both knew we no longer wanted to live life apart. On August 19th, Jonathan invited Jess to grab a coffee after work. “We went to the Village where we had gone on our first date. Jonathan bought me a coffee. He was holding his tablet the whole time, and I couldn’t figure out why, I thought maybe he wanted to show me something. He led me to the table we had sat at and said he had something for me. Then he pulled out a book he had made, all about the things he loves about me. While I was finishing reading it (by this point I knew where this was going), he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes.” — Jess That night we talked and decided we wanted to get married as soon as was reasonably possible. We were ready to build a life together, but it was important to us that we do it in a way that honored our values and convictions. We also wanted to have a real wedding celebration with our friends and family. So we decided on a small, private ceremony in September and a larger wedding celebration in 2026.

We were married at the Idaho State Capitol Building on September 25th, surrounded by a few of our closest loved ones. Jess’s parents and two of her cousins, Tif and Nicole, stood with us. Jonathan’s brother Peter and one of his best friends, Gabriel, were also there. Jonathan’s mother, sister, and grandparents were able to join us through video streaming. The day was beautiful, personal, and everything we hoped it would be. We are so grateful we were able to have a very intimate and meaningful start to our marriage, a day where we could focus completely on each other, not on all the other details. We then spent our "mini-moon" in McCall for the weekend. We are so excited to celebrate with everyone next summer! It has been such a blessing to use this time to focus on our new marriage and the life we are building together.

During our time together, something Jonathan would often say was, “I love our story.” That phrase became the inspiration for the theme of our upcoming wedding: Our Next Chapter. We both believe that the joining of two people in marriage is a beautiful and meaningful gift, and that there is much in the Bible that points to celebrating that union. We are so excited to celebrate our marriage with all of our friends and loved ones at our Wedding Celebration in June 2026. Our wedding ceremony at the Capitol was beautiful and intentional, and it gave us a deeply meaningful start to our life together. For our upcoming celebration, we have saved our official wedding rings and personal vows so that we can share them with those who come to celebrate with us.