I met Tom at a party at Luther College my sophomore year. A week later, this boy approached me in the hall and struck up a conversation like we were long lost friends. Unfortunately I had no idea who he was but I decided to roll with it because he was really really cute. I was sitting in my dorm with my roommate, both scouring Facebook for any hint of this guy when I got a friend request from a Tom Reimann. After some light stalking, like hanging out in the hall before class when I knew he had a something on the same floor and conveniently sitting on the library lawn when he walked to choir, we became actual friends. Sparks began to fly the summer of 2012 when we met up at Nordic Fest. Officially, we didn't begin dating until Mary, my youngest sister, decided to ask about our relationship status on my Facebook wall the following autumn. Seven years later, we started talking about taking the next step. We had looked at rings and I was getting antsy because he told me I wasn't allowed to propose first. Trying to give him the opportunity, I suggested we take a weekend trip to Decorah and revisit our favorite spots in town and on campus. Early evening we hiked to the top of Pulpit Rock. He read me two passages from my favorite book, got down on one knee and said some very sweet things I can't recall at all because I was too busy focusing on not crying. I, obviously, said yes!

Tom had seen Tess around campus at Luther during his junior year. He found her very pretty but didn't know much about her until she went on a J-Term trip exploring the friendship and literary legacies of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis with a few friends of his. As a fan of Tolkien since fourth grade, this got Tom's attention. Tom and Tess finally met at a party in February of Tom's junior year and Tom felt a connection right away. As the Spring progressed, Tom would look forward to his walk to choir rehearsals at 4 PM each day because somehow, like clockwork, Tess and her friends would reliably happen to be spending time lounging (studying?) on the library lawn just along his path. What a fortuitous coincidence! Over the summer, back in their respective hometowns, they would occasionally find excuses to chat about this or that, sometimes giving each other book and music recommendations. Tom was thrilled to find out that Tess would be in Decorah for Nordic Fest; he had plans to be there with his friends too. When Nordic fest arrived, Tom made it his mission to meet up with Tess and eventually they did, just in time to watch fireworks from the banks of the Upper Iowa River. In short order, they were back on campus together, learning more about each other and convincing their sisters to become friends (their greatest success as a couple yet!). From that time, they've grown together through great joy as well as through struggle. They're really happy to be here together now.