We're Getting Married!

We met in August of 2024. Dakota decided to give online dating a try the same weekend Mike had made up his mind to delete the apps if he didn’t match with anyone. While scrolling through Hinge, Dakota saw a photo of Mike working at Rookie’s—a local ice cream sandwich shop in Lynchburg, VA, where she had gone to school. She noticed he also went to Liberty and messaged him to ask if it was, in fact, Rookie’s. That one message kicked off a conversation that quickly uncovered something surprising—we had both been at Liberty at the exact same time! After chatting online for a couple of weeks, Mike asked Dakota to meet for coffee at the Tuscan Market. From the first date, we both appreciated how honest and straightforward the other was. We hit it off immediately, talked for hours, and made plans for a second date later that week… and then a third! The connection grew quickly, and just three weeks after meeting in person, we officially became a couple. We both knew early on that we had found something special. On September 21, 2025, Mike got down on one knee and asked Dakota to spend forever with him. Now, we’re counting down the days until we say "I do" and start our next chapter—together, forever.