Josh was on a business trip over the 4th of July holiday in Washington DC, when he matched with Maureen on the dating app, Bumble. Unaware (although Maureen still questions this!) of the concept of “travel mode”, Josh thought he matched with a beautiful professional from Minneapolis. Upon realizing Maureen was an Arlington resident, Josh apologized for the match and they wished each other well. A couple of weeks later, Josh found out he was going to be in DC three out of the next five weeks. He couldn’t get Maureen’s smile out of his head, so he decided to reach back out and see if she would go on a date - and surprisingly she said yes! For their first date, they met at an iconic French restaurant in DC (Le Diplómate). Josh asked if she was interested in splitting a bottle of wine. Maureen replied that she liked wine and tried to impress Josh by saying, “I own a wine fridge!” (Later Maureen would find out Josh had 3 wine fridges and to say he likes wine is an understatement). Both of them surprised each other, with about as perfect as a first date as you could have. Both were smitten and decided to keep up a long distance relationship, in which multiple trips to MN, VA and CA grew their relationship. An incredible trip to Scotland and Ireland cemented the fact that they were compatible traveling companions and confirmed they wanted to build a future life together. Josh asked Maureen if she would move with him to California so he could pursue his dream of working at a winery. Narrowing all of their belongings to a single SUV, with Pepper in tow - they made their way across country from Virginia to California. After six months out in California, Josh couldn’t wait to tell Maureen he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her (and Pepper)! Right before their big trip to Hawaii, he brought her and Pepper out to the beach. He dropped to one knee and popped the question. She ecstatically said yes! We’re so excited to share a little bit of our California life with the people we love most. Now it’s time to party!