Our first date was a hiking excursion at Willow River State Park in Hudson, WI in March of 2018. The trails through the rolling hills and trees were a mix of slushy snow and ice, that involved some slipping, sliding, butt-scooting, and forced-hand holding. It went really well, or as Josh would later relay to his sister, it went “disappointingly well”. Why disappointingly? Because unbeknownst to Josh at the time of their initial “matching” a few weeks prior (via a dating app), Gabbi did not live in Hudson, but lived an hour and a half away in Barron, WI. Gabbi had only been in town visiting a friend, and once this was revealed, was still able to keep Josh’s attention and intrigue by quickly skipping the usual monotonous and superficial small talk that usually plagues these dating apps, and go straight to just a barrage of blunt, hard-hitting questions about what Josh was looking for in a partner, his values, life goals, etc…. Gabbi was not wasting anymore time finding what she wanted, and this was different, and intrigued Josh just enough to agree to an in-person date, despite knowing that one consequence of it going well was getting committed into a long-distance relationship...which is exactly what happened. Gabbi’s charm, optimism, laugh, and determination to have fun while adventuring together outdoors (even in less-than-ideal conditions), which were all on display that first date, and would open up Josh’s eyes to what life may be like with a partner such as this. He decided that pursuing this relationship may well be worth the distance.

Josh and Gabbi have always shared a love for the outdoors and exploring new places together. The Boundary Waters in Northern MN has quickly become one of their favorite places. This past summer they decided to extend their trip to 9 days of no-cell service, off-the-grid bliss. They rented their canoe and set out through Ely, MN during the last week of August, 2020. On night 3, Josh set up a camera to take some sunset photos by the lake. During one of the posed pictures Gabbi became seriously alarmed as she noticed Josh's heart was literally pounding out of his chest and asked if he was okay. Josh (who was training for a 50k race at the time) brushed it off saying the rocks were a little steep and he was trying to run up and down them to time the pictures. Eventually, after a few more sips of wine Josh started his love speech, got down on one knee and proposed! Gabbi was completely shocked and burst into immediate sobs. That night was a full moon and one of the only clear nights of the whole trip (it rained a LOT!). It could not have been more perfect...until Gabbi realized they wouldn't have service for a whole week yet and she had to wait that long to tell anybody.

With planning around Covid-19 restrictions, the unknown future, and house hunting underway, we have decided to plan for a more intimate style wedding with a maximum of 50 people present. The wedding will be mostly outdoors so try to plan accordingly for the weather. We want this day to be comfortable, happy, and care-free! We are lucky to have so much love and support from so many wonderful people. Thank you all for being a part of our lives, we can not wait to share our day with you!