We met on St. Patrick's Day 2018 at Luckypalooza in downtown St. Paul. Julie was out with some friends when Tyler saddled up beside her at the bar with a soft pretzel in hand. Not known to keep quiet, Julie asked him "Where's the cheese?" and the rest is history! Smitten from the get-go, we went on our first official date the very next day, skiing at Afton Alps. And the day after that, he came to meet my dad and I at a Minnesota Wild game. We knew this was something special from the start.
Barely six months into dating, Julie was leaving for two years to Green Bay, WI to get her second degree in Radiography. Knowing it would be tough, we made a promise to each other that we'd try our hardest to make this work. So, every single weekend (literally, except 3!), either Julie drove the four hours back home to Tyler or Tyler would come visit Green Bay. It was hard but so worth it and made us appreciate each other that much more.
After all of the long drives back and forth, Tyler planned on taking Julie on a graduation trip to Italy to celebrate being done with school and finally living in the same state again. Knowing it was her favorite place in the world, Tyler thought it would be the perfect place to propose. However, COVID threw us a curveball. Instead, Tyler and his mom came up with an idea to bring Italy to her. Tyler took Julie on a gondola ride down the St. Croix River in Stillwater, and then set up a picnic on the bank of the river. As the sun was setting, Tyler reached into his bag and pulled out the most beautiful ring and proposed. Of course, Julie said YES! Tyler's brother, Travis, luckily got all of it on video as well.
After months of kicking around wedding ideas and trying to figure out alternate plans, we decided a small wedding is what we wanted, surrounded by our closest friends and family, the people we love the most. We are not blind to what's happening in the world and the fact that Italy is an ocean away. While we would love for everyone to be able to attend, we understand that life happens and international travel is a big ask, especially during COVID. We completely understand if Italy is just not feasible, and know that no matter what, we appreciate all the love and support we've gotten from you all throughout our relationship and during this wedding planning process! - Love, Tyler & Julie