We are getting married!

Natalie and Jared first met each other at a birthday party, hosted by Aaron Acree (a good friend of Natalie and Jared’s) at Tiffin University, on Labor Day weekend, 2017. Jared had noticed Natalie first. It was right away when she walked into the party, but he thought she was dating Aaron since they had walked in together, so he didn’t initially pursue talking to her. Little did Jared know, Natalie was too nervous to come into the party by herself, so she had called Aaron from her car when she arrived and had him meet her outside to walk her in. On the other end, Natalie too, had noticed Jared shortly after she walked into the party. For her though, she thought he looked older than everyone and didn’t think that he would want to hang out very long with a whole bunch of 20 and 21-year-olds, or at the least, talk with her. So, without knowing how each other felt they continued to notice each other as the evening went on without saying a word. It wasn’t until Natalie passed Jared a guitar to play for people at the party that wheels started turning for them both. Natalie instantly became more intrigued with Jared with his guitar skills and Jared thought Natalie looked even cuter up close. Also, later in the evening Jared got Natalie out of a very uncomfortable conversation she was having with a group of girls which was a big move. Some could say that he made the first move by this action. After Jared politely pulled her aside to get out of the conversation, Natalie felt comfortable enough to talk to him by herself for a one-on-one conversation and Jared felt the same. She felt he either was a sweet gentleman and he maybe wanted to get to know her more, or he could just read her body language saying, “please, someone take me away from these crazy college girls”. Thankfully it was the first feeling. It didn’t take long after talking with Natalie that Jared realized Natalie was not dating Aaron and he wanted to continue to make a good impression. It may have helped too that Aaron had made a few choice dance moves towards some other girls that a guy wouldn’t do if he was with a girl. The night continued and passed by quickly for them both. They enjoyed the new beginning they were creating. They listened to Bruno Mars (one of Natalie's favorite artists Jared learned) or anything Jared could find on Spotify to make Natalie laugh or try to dance to. Natalie found very quickly, Jared has some very good dance moves and he found out just as quick, that she does not have a coordinated dancing bone in her body. Once the party had come to an end, Natalie drove Jared to his house in Tiffin and they talked for a few more hours in Natalie's car. Before going their separate ways for the night, they both knew they had met someone special. Whether it was a friendship or more, they did not know at the time, but they knew it was something good.

It was one of the warmest days they had last summer, and they went on a nature walk at Honey Creek Nature Preserve with their friends Tim and Taylor Ink (who had helped Jared plan the proposal). The original plan for Jared's proposal had gone astray after the fact that it rained several inches within a few days prior to the engagement day and the river had rose drastically. This had caused the spot where Jared had planned to get down on one knee to be completely flooded by rushing water. He improvised and proposed in a meadow instead within the nature preserve and it was the sweetest thing. Not to say it was still an adventure to get to that spot though. Soaking wet shoes from trudging through water, eating unidentified berries along the path because they looked like raspberries and trying to find the "best picture spot" according to Tim. Finally, they had found the "best picture spot" and just had to keep Natalie distracted for a tad bit longer. Taylor and Tim took a few pictures together and then it was Natalie and Jared's turn. If you ask Natalie, they took what felt like only one picture and Jared was down on one knee. Whether it was sweat from the heat and humidity or from being nervous, or both, Jared was the sweatiest Natalie had ever seen him when he proposed. Poor thing even blacked out for a few seconds when he got down on one knee and doesn't remember what Natalie's response was. Of course, it was a big, "Yes!". Surprising no tears were had by Natalie, just lots of excited screeches followed by hugs, kisses, and trembling hands by both when putting the ring on Natalie's finger. They celebrated the rest of the evening starting with Jared and Tim giving piggy-back rides to Natalie and Taylor through rising water just to get out of the nature preserve, then going to Xcaret for dinner with Taylor and Tim. They finished the night by going back home to Natalie's home place, telling Natalie's parents they were engaged, and drinking wine with them on the front porch until about midnight.

Ever since the beginning, we have been inseparable. We take every opportunity to get to be with each other, whether we are 2 1/2 hours away or just down the road. We enjoy learning new things, going on "adventures", making Dunkin' runs just because, watching movies, singing and/or playing guitar, learning how to adult with one another and growing with each other as this life continues.

We met back in 2017 on Labor Day weekend and here we are, 5 years later, saying "I Do" on Labor Day weekend. The original wedding date was going to be in the beginning of October, but the venue was taken so they moved it to September. Neither Jared nor Natalie realized their wedding day was the same weekend that they had originally met until about 6 months into the engagement. Coincidence? Maybe. Or it’s just a fun extra detail to make the day extra special. ❤