We met through an online dating site at the height of the pandemic and, after a couple of weeks of sending in-depth messages back and forth, Nena decided that she might be okay with talking to Dominic on the phone. It may have been the best decision she ever made. Every day since then has been filled with love, laughter, and our special brand of silliness.

Since we're reaching our middle-age years and we've both done this before, we didn't feel like we needed a big fancy wedding. Actually, what we needed was a vacation. As it turns out, Colorado has some cool laws that allow couples to self-officiate, meaning we could do things our way. We wrote our vows, booked a little cabin, and packed up the car with hiking gear and wedding outfits. Then we drove 20 hours to Rocky Mountain National Park, stopping to see the silly giant things, Cahokia, and get St.Louis BBQ along the way. The park was gorgeous and our wedding, alone in a meadow by a waterfall surrounded by mountains a clear blue sky, was just perfect. We even made summit on a real (9,786 ft small) mountain!