So we’ve all heard of the couples that met online. Did you know there is a specific dating app for queer people? Back in 2021, we matched on HER and Helena slid into Meghan’s DMs. We hit it off and Helena suggested ice cream for a first date. Meghan is lactose intolerant so we landed on pie. We met at a cute restaurant called Baker’s Square and shared three pieces of pie: pecan, strawberry rhubarb and key lime. Meghan has since discovered that Helena doesn’t like key lime pie but they graciously went along with it. Helena knew Meghan was special when she requested we clink our forks before the first bite for a cheers. We moved to a second location for a drink, always a good sign. Then Meghan dropped Helena back off at their car and we hugged goodbye. What a wholesome experience. So wholesome in fact that we ended up being just friends for almost a year! Helena held out hope that Meghan would realize what’s right in front of her. We took a ceramics class together at the community center (again, some wholesome content). Helena put themselves out there toward the end of the class and asked if we could try expanding our very wholesome friendship. Meghan could finally see clearly the caring supportive friend right in front of her might just be her perfect match. We both jumped in feet first and started dating in 2022. We took big strides out the gate. Two and a half months into dating, Helena joined Meghan for a trip to New York. We celebrated Meghan’s birthday, spent a week with her parents, and then ended the trip at her cousin’s wedding (shout out Claire & Cody for letting Helena join so last minute). So Helena was willing to meet a strong majority of Meghan’s family during this trip, all the way from meeting the parents, my grandma, and most of my aunts, uncles and cousins. What an adventure! That was July, fast forward to September when we’ve been dating for five months. Helena moves in with Meghan. Maybe some of you have heard the stereotype that lesbians bring a Uhaul to the first date. We certainly made it happen pretty quick but that extra year of friendship really fast tracked our progress. The following year we got our first cat together. We celebrated our first anniversary in 2023 in Saugatuck, MI, a cute small town gay travel destination (I can confirm that this town is known in the queer community thanks to Aunt Mary and Aunt Roxanne!). Meghan planted the seeds of planning their engagement. She had a hunch that Helena would propose during their second anniversary celebration in Saugatuck since we loved it so much the first time. We decided we both wanted to be proposed to so Meghan decided to beat Helena to the punch. She bought tickets to our favorite romantic R&B artist, Pink Sweats for Valentine’s day of 2024. While we met him at the meet and greet, Helena told him our favorite song, Paradise, would be what we dance to at our wedding. Fast forward to us in the front row. He gives us a shout out before the song comes on. We dance and hold each other while everyone holds their phone lights out. He starts the chorus with “I feel alive when I look in your eyes” and Meghan drops to one knee. The crowd goes wild. Helena snatches the ring right out of the box and puts it on themselves. We hug and kiss and smile while everyone gushes over us. We felt like celebrities that night! Then Helena made Meghan feel just as special with an intimate picnic on our anniversary. They hired a covert photographer to capture the moment and we did a photoshoot right after. We’ve been planning our special day every since! If you made it to the end, thanks for reading. We are so looking forward to celebrating with you and partying down!