Two people, brought together during an unfortunate event, began an exciting new journey as friends. A little over a year later, this friendship started to stretch into unknown galaxies and the "scruffy-looking nerf herder" began to fall for the independent "princess". At first, the princess was in denial of the attraction -- even though she knew, deep down, that there was something there. After dancing around the subject and engaging in some playful banter, from time to time, the handsome smuggler (heart smuggler) finally kissed her, making all time and space stand still. She was a goner. And thus began this epic love saga.

Under the guise of a Roaring 20's NYE party, with a handful of close friends, Joe popped the question. Right as the ball dropped. Turns out, Joe had been colluding with two couple friends of theirs (including the hosts of the party). Absolutely nobody else knew. It was beautiful, emotional (BECCA) and absolutely perfect. Hands down, one of the best nights of all time. No biases or anything. :)

Hiya, and welcome to our "extended edition" wedding. :) For those who are not aware, Joe and I (officially) tied the knot, this past year - in the middle of a pandemic - with an extremely important (and time sensitive) motivation. My beloved grandpa was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and it was imperative - to both my grandpa and I - that he be a part of the big day. So, even though Joe and I had already picked out this 2021 date and mostly paid for the venue, we decided to throw (with the help of some A-team family members) an impromptu wedding at my grandparents' house in Albert Lea, MN. The very town my grandpa nourished his medical practice, including the delivery of his first grandchild - me. The beginning of our very special bond. Sure, this was all a huge ask on my part, but Joe (being the incredible and supportive man he is) didn't skip a beat. He knew exactly how important this was for me, and never questioned it for a moment. So, on August 7th, 2020, we gathered in my grandparents' Japanese Garden; just us, my grandparents, my aunt (who married us), and my cousin (who took pictures). It was absolutely beautiful and such a perfect memory to forever hold dear. And while it was an incredible day, there were certainly bittersweet undertones. It would be our very last moments with my grandfather, as he passed 5 days later. Words cannot explain how grateful I am to have shared that final memory, when I married my forever favorite, in the company of my very first favorite. Truly special. But now we are eager to gather (um, at all - just sayin) with our WHOLE tribe, to celebrate our love, our health, and our "I do" part two! We really hope you can join us.