We were introduced by a friend of Maia's who also happened to be Nathan's cousin! We started communicating long distance through social media as friends, which quickly led to weekend dates in Grinnell, IA, halfway between our hometowns. We decided to make it official on March 4, 2017 and continued dating long distance until Nathan decided to join Maia at Iowa State University in the Fall of 2018. The rest is history!

We got engaged the evening after Maia finished off her second-to-last semester of college! On a trip back to Nathan's hometown in eastern Iowa, we decided to stop in Grinnell for a celebratory end-of-semester date night. We decided to get take-out from our favorite restaurant in Grinnell, Prairie Canary, and ate it as a picnic in Rock Creek State Park where we would meet to spend time together when we were still dating long distance. After this, we went to get ice cream and walk along the main street of Grinnell where we would often go to explore on our weekend dates. It was here, in the place so special to our hearts, the place where we met and fell in love, that Nathan popped the question!