We're getting married!

How does anyone meet anymore? Bars? Through friends? Social clubs? Church? None of these seemed to work for Jay and Kristin. Instead, they turned to the tried-and-true—though often infuriating—Hinge. Kristin liked Jay’s profile soon after moving back to Columbus following a travel nurse assignment in Seattle. But unknown circumstances led him to wait over a month to match on the app. Eventually, they did match, and they decided on the local brewery Seventh Son for their first date. Kristin lived about a block away, and Jay had previously lived across the street from the brewery—a home game of sorts for both. Both were very nervous, but Kristin’s friend Eryn assured her that she would be fine after extensive social media research, finding out that she knew some of Jay’s best friends from college. The first date went great. They talked for over two hours about all kinds of topics—Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, sports, college, Kristin’s broken elbow, travel, faith, and everything in between. It was getting late and Jay had to work the next day. He knew the date was going well when, after trying to wrap things up, Kristin kept the conversation going for another half hour. Things took off from there, and the couple began spending more time together. They loved doing many things together, including going to sporting events, concerts, church, making breakfast (with good bacon), hiking, taking vacations, playing music trivia at Land Grant, watching Survivor, and of course, spending time with each other’s families. Once they finally said “I love you,” it was full steam ahead. In the fall of 2024, they went shopping at the outlet malls, which led to an impromptu stop at a diamond store. Kristin was shocked, but she showed Jay the ring she had always dreamed of. He would go on to buy it a few days later and secured the blessing from Kristin’s dad, George shortly after that. Thank goodness! The day after Valentine’s Day 2025, Kristin and Jay went to Franklin Park Conservatory—a day that would change both of their lives forever. Kristin was enjoying seeing all the pretty flowers, but was becoming irritated with Jay as he was constantly on his phone. However after being led into the Palm Room, Kristin turned around to see her man down on one knee. She said yes!!! After a proposal photo shoot (which was what Jay was coordinating at the conservatory), the couple headed to Seventh Son, expecting to meet a few friends to celebrate. To Kristin’s surprise, both families and many friends came out to celebrate. If you were there, we thank you for making it such a memorable day! Then came wedding planning, which was a great joy for us both. We can’t wait to celebrate our big day with all the people who made us who we are today! Whether you are able to join us or not, lets raise a glass to a lifetime of joy and happiness! Cheers! The Wilhelms