Like many modern love stories, ours began on an app. Joel swiped right on Madeline first. He saw she had type 1 diabetes and thought she might be understanding of his Crohn's disease. Madeline, on the other hand, was won over by a picture of Joel’s cat and the fact that he said he was looking for a real relationship. Madeline made the first move with the following message: "I realize this is a super weird way to start a conversation, but as a phlebotomist, do you know any good tricks for finding veins? Because mine are the worst lol". And exactly four years after that initial message, we'll be saying "I do".

It didn’t take long for something to feel different than our previous relationships. Joel loved that Madeline never made him feel judged. She listened in a way that made him feel seen and safe. Madeline was drawn to how kind, thoughtful, and understanding Joel was. He paid attention to small things and made her feel taken care of. Our second date somehow turned into 16 hours of nonstop conversation. When Joel casually mentioned that he talked for his cat, Madeline knew he was the one. On the fourth date, we both said “I love you,” and have been together ever since. When you know, you know.

In June of 2024, we booked our wedding venue...even though we weren't engaged yet. In our defense, we knew we wanted to get married in 2025 and Madeline wouldn't have a lot of time to plan during the school year (seriously, we didn't know what time to put on the invitations or what food we'd be serving until after Madeline finished report cards in June of this year). But this didn’t stop Joel from having some fun with the proposal! Joel teamed up with Madeline's mom to pick out the ring and the two of them lovingly teased her every time they went to the jewelry store to keep the anticipation alive. When the ring was finally in hand, Joel planned a sweet scavenger hunt around our house. The clues eventually led Madeline to the ring, but first, she had to unscramble the words “Will you be my forever?” And of course, she said yes!

We're still settling into the house we bought in December — just down the street from Madeline’s parents. We’ve been busy (well, Joel and his dad have been busy) making it our own by painting, swapping out dated light fixtures, upgrading to a gas stove, and building a cat highway to entertain our three cats. We're excited to spend this summer finalizing wedding plans, working on house projects, riding our new tandem bike, and starting our married life together!