We're Finally getting married!

As much as I hoped for a romantic story for meeting the love of my life, that was not the reality of dating in 2018. I (Rachael - the author for this entire website) had just returned to Indy after traveling in Southeast Asia for 8 months. I was living in Indianapolis and feeling like a "young, urban, professional", hoping to date around, enjoy multiple nice steak and wine dinners and casually date as an adult - in the city! I never did get those steak dinners, as Tom was my first and only Bumble date! But he will adamant, he got lucky as the match ALMOST slipped away! The details: On the swiping app "Bumble", we both swiped "right", finding each other attractive and interesting based on our profiles, however, on Bumble, the woman must initiate the conversation within 24 hours of a "connection" in order to still be connected on the app. I was on Bumble infrequently and not proactive in messaging my connections, but before our connection was erased by the app, Tom used his one and only "SAVE" button, which alerted me that my "connection" - Tom - had initiated an additional 24 hours for me to reach out and keep our "connection". I obviously found this very flattering that he wanted to ensure that our match did not disappear and was then motivated to get on the app and decide if he was worth initiating a conversation with. I obviously sent Tom a message, saving our "match" and forever connecting us (As oppose to letting our "match" fizzle into the lost world of internet swiping/dating). The date: After a few days of texting to ensure he was a "normal" guy, we went on a first date at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. (A great sign for me that he wants tacos/margs!) I was nervous but excited as I walked in and recognized his curls immediately. After playing "20 questions", we both started chatting more casually. I remember not wanting to leave and feeling so smitten after and decided to call him the first very night after getting home. His roommate, Will, wisely advised against answering a call from a girl after the very first date night. After realizing my genuine interest in him and disinterest in following society's dating rules, he agreed to go on additional dates, almost 3x/week. There was no easing in for us, our relationship began immediately after that first date. The dive, head first: It wasn't more than 3 months into that summer that I told my friends "I am going to marry this guy," and at the State Fair that summer, I told him I loved him. We spent alot of time together that summer and fall in Indianapolis, meeting each other's family and friends, visiting each other's hometowns, and learning how to love one another as we navigated city living and careers. The life we built: Less than 2 years later, we moved into a house together in Columbus, IN and rescued 2 dogs. We decided since that was working well, it was time to cram all 4 of us into an RV and travel the COVID summer of 2020 around the western USA. We had discussed very early on in our first few dates that we wanted to move out of Indiana, somewhere West, and potentially to Colorado. While traveling in our RV throughout the USA, we started applying for jobs and finally decided to settle in Colorado. A year later, we bought our first home, together. The Commitment: After 6 years, Tom popped the question on our dating anniversary and after exactly 8 years, a shared mortgage/house, a shared credit card, 2 fur babies and nearly all life decisions shared, we decided we should make it official by saying our vows on May 16th. There is so much more to our story that most of you have shared bits and pieces as a part of, however none of this would have happened if Tom didn't "save" our Bumble match and give me a second chance and additional 24 hours to connect with him! Who knew a Bumble notification could be so flattering that it shaped my whole life!