Markus and Victoria met their Sophomore year of college at a mutual friend's bonfire. The fire wasn't the only thing hot that night...Markus thought. The two accidently bumped into each other on Victoria's way to the bathroom. After some innocent flirting, there seemed to be an immediate connection...Markus thought. Shortly after, to Markus's chagrin, Victoria left. Fast forward, 3 years later, Victoria is suddenly awoken by an Instagram DM. Markus_goff3 is requesting to send you a message. Unbeknownst to Markus, Victoria is a big cat girl and his claim that dogs were better than cats unfortunately, did not bode well. Fast forward 3 more years, Victoria is suddenly awoken by the awakening sound of a DM. Markus_goff3 is requesting to send you a message. Markus_goff3: "Ever considered a career in whacking moles?" Referring to a video of Victoria aggressively playing the drums with fake microphones the night before. Well, it just so happened, this conversation turned into a few more conversations which turned into phone calls and after a few weeks, Markus mustered up the courage to ask Victoria on a first date. To Victoria's surprise, Markus was planning on being in Iowa for an engagement party 'just passed' Des Moines (aka 2 hours out of the way) that upcoming Friday. Consequently, Victoria had the day off and they agreed on a coffee date at 10am in Des Moines. Meaning Markus had to set his alarm for 5:03 AM which he labeled 'Drive to Des Moines to see Victoria'. While it doesn't take Markus 4.5 hours to get ready, it does take that long to drive to Des Moines from Madison only to get A cold black coffee during their date where a fellow coffee-drinker politely interrupted for the 1st hour. Off to an interesting start, Victoria suggested they grab some lunch and a beer or 3 at the Iowa Tap Room. After settling on a few beers and buffalo chicken wraps, the conversation was flowing as well as the beers were. As if Markus wasn't already going to be late, the two decided to hop to a nearby bar to finish out their date. Needless to say, it was a very successful first date and Markus was very late to the engagement party. Shortly after that visit, Victoria was planning a trip to Madison. The two dated long-distance, (9-hour round trips), for the next year because living in the same city would simply be too convenient. After a year of many dropped-calls and facetimes, Victoria, Roland, and Quincy decided to pack up their lives in DSM and head north to Madison. Two years later, Markus asked Victoria to marry him while spending a spooky Friday the 13th out on Lake Monona. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. We are so excited for this next chapter in our lives and look forward to spending our special day with you! -Written by: Nicholas Sparks