Derek and Maddison officially met at a party on the Fourth of July in 2016 in Duluth, MN. Prior to them meeting, Maddie spent time working with Derek's sister, Rachael, with a performing company and they were also cast in a musical alongside each other in the summer of 2016. Through mutual friends, Derek and Maddie had both known of one another since late high-school, but had never officially met until Rachael convinced him to attend this party, knowing he would finally meet Maddie. Derek and Maddie spent most of the night alongside one another, watching the fireworks on the shore of Lake Superior and bonding over their love of "Star Wars", music, movies, and more. Soon after, Derek and Maddie officially started their relationship on July 19th of 2016. They spent much of the summer together before Maddie returned to the University of Minnesota to continue her second year of nursing school while Derek started his collegiate journey at University of Minnesota in Duluth. While apart, the two travelled between the Twin Cities and Twin Ports to see one another while Derek spent his time applying to the U of M architecture program. The following semester, he was accepted into the program and officially moved to the Twin Cities to be alongside Maddie and pursue his passion of architectural design. Since then, Derek and Maddie have spent many years living together, travelling and experiencing new things, and raising Maddie's childhood dog (Lola) and their two cats (Mr. Bean and Ember). Over the past few years, Maddie has continued her career in nursing while pursuing her love of fashion/costume design part-time and Derek obtained his Master's of Architecture in 2023, working for an architecture firm full-time since and teaching architecture courses at the U of M. On August 30th of 2024, the two were engaged after knowing for many years that they were meant to be together. Finally, they felt settled enough to start the next chapter in their relationship. In May of 2025, Maddie and Derek bought their first house together, only blocks away from their future wedding venue in Northeast, Minneapolis. Maddie and Derek have felt like true life partners since less than a year into their relationship, but are now excited to celebrate their 10 year anniversary together with their wedding. We thank you all for being a part of this long journey with us!