Let's get hitched!

Trying to find love in the age of dating apps sometimes felt all logistics and no magic; all analytics and no spark. And the track record hadn't been great either, I mean, think of all the years I'd spent on a dating app with nothing but a few bad stories to show for it! Oftentimes the whole endeavor felt rather pointless. And for me, a hopeless romantic who had been indulging in the sacred art of romance novels since I was very young, I yearned for sparks, for a love story worth writing about. I was all but convinced I wouldn't find anything like that on a dating app. But then, one random late August day, with no pretense or lead up, I saw a profile of a man so handsome, so interesting, and so intriguing that I had no choice but to reach out. I remember scrolling over his pictures and bios, looking over every detail for longer than I'd ever stopped on a person's profile before. I was trying to come up with something, anything, clever to say to this man that I didn't know, had never seen or heard of before, and was suddenly so desperate to talk to. For me, a simple "hey," would never cut it, I wanted to put my best foot forward, even if it was digital for the time being. Luckily, a few hours after sending a masterfully crafted message, I got a response from Jack. Even over text, I was smitten. He was so charming, so endlessly interesting, and the man could send a long, well written text, like an Austen-era love letter without any of the pride or prejudice. We went on our first date to meet in person in early October. I don't know how to describe how I felt other than a reassuring wash of "yes, this one." After all the empty swiping right and left, here he was: the magic. And if you know Jack at all, you know that is what he is. Pure magic. As Jack and I continued to date and learn about each other, going from complete strangers to adoring best friends and lovers, I was surprised to find how many times the universe had tried to bring us together. A comedy show that I almost went to where he was performing a set. Him playing disc golf at places I frequented (one of our very first dates happened spontaneously because he had texted me saying he was playing in "some random place called Oak Harbor," not realizing that is where I was visiting my parents for the weekend...how many times had this happened before we were aware the other existed?) we loved so many of the same restaurants, had both lived in this relatively small city that we loved so much for a number overlapping years, I'd even gone shopping at the antique mall right next door to his house! How many times had the universe tried to pull us together, but we had other plans? Or rather, how many times had we been drawn to the other one and the universe said "not yet! Let me cook you two a bit longer!" I never thought I would meet my husband on a dating app, I envisioned a classic rom-com meet-cute. But we are writing an even better story, a story where we were circling each other for years without even knowing until we were so ready for the great love of our lives that we made our great, romantic, dazzling, sweeping love story happen over something as mundane as a Hinge prompt. I couldn't ask for a better partner, friend, confidant, and teammate. I can't wait to marry the greatest love story of my life, and I can't wait for you to be there with us!