Welcome to our love story

Eric and Lindsey met on the first day of college at Gustavus in August of 2019. Lindsey, playing wingwoman for her new neighbor, marched down the halls of her freshman year dorm to meet Eric and his roommate, Will—the energy of move-in-day still echoing off the musty, brick walls of the ever-so-romatic Norelius Hall. Within minutes, Eric and Lindsey began to bond over their shared love of hockey, musical theatre, Billy Joel, and card games. Three days later, Eric texted his parents a picture of Lindsey and told them he had his eye on a “certain girl.” Two days after that, Lindsey’s high school friends were making relationship T-shirts (see the 'gallery' tab for evidence). Neither knew the other had a crush. Their first adventure came just a week later, with their friend Connor. An 11:30pm question—”Do you know how long the dotted passing lines are on the road?”—turned into an hour-long road trip to Bloomington, MN to test its “famous” tap water. Unbeknownst to small-town-boy Eric, Bloomington happened to be quite close to Lindsey’s home town of Apple Valley. So close, in fact, that the trio decided on a whim to keep driving to Lindsey’s house. Eric met his future in-laws at 2am within a week of meeting Lindsey. The next day, Lindsey invited Eric to the World’s Largest Candy Store in Jordan, MN (she “forgot her student ID” at home and had to meet her parents halfway)—their first date. They shared their first kiss on the twenty-first night of September—shortly, of course, after listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire. Over the rest of that first semester, they quietly built the foundation of their relationship. They went on sunset dates to their go-to lakefront spot, taking turns answering “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love” article from the New York Times (it worked!). They sang duets of “Our House”in Room 315 of the music building, and enjoyed nights together in their dorm rooms, where the two tried to memorize each other’s giant family trees. When the world shut down the following semester, they began making the two-hour drive between Apple Valley and Paynesville nearly every weekend. It was clear from the outset that they’d rather be together, even if it meant hours on the road. Those slowed-down weekends helped both of them discover the rhythms of each other’s families and hometowns. From there, the memories stacked up: semester-end date nights, countless rounds of 500 without keeping score, ranking Billy Joel songs (and whoever else’s discography they could think of), road trips to new towns and parks, summers hiking the North Shore, lake days on Koronis, and choir tours that took them from Seattle to Los Angeles and later to Spain, Italy, and France.

2024 was a milestone year for Lindsey and Eric. They opened a brewery alongside their best friends and powered through the whirlwind of the startup process. They rewarded themselves with a six-week adventure across Europe, reaching both the northernmost and southernmost points of Europe. About a week after coming back from their travels, they brought home their beloved dog, Billy (named after Billy Joel, of course). As much as they tried not to, Eric & Lindsey quickly became obsessive dog-parents, bringing him along on all their adventures. At the end of August 2024, they packed up their lives and moved across the country to California for graduate school. They began building a new life in a new state—together. Even in the midst of demanding graduate programs, they found time to explore every corner of their new home: sometimes just the two of them, sometimes with new friends, and often with a steady stream of visitors from Minnesota in town. On November 28, 2024, Eric suggested a sunset beach trip to unwind from the stress of first semester finals. Lindsey thought nothing of it, until Eric led her to the edge of the cliffs at Fort Funston Beach, dropped to one knee, and asked her to marry him. Lindsey blurted out, “Are you being serious?!” before he had even finished the question. The next day, their families flew in to celebrate. Lindsey and Eric got to play tour guide and share their new home with their families for the first time. It was the perfect weekend, and everything they could have dreamed of. Amidst all of the changes, one thing has remained constant: Lindsey and Eric’s devotion to each other. They still don’t take themselves too seriously. They’ve learned to embrace the chaos and cherish the quiet moments—taking Billy to the park each day, eating nightly dinners on their patio, studying together at their favorite coffee shop (shoutout Coffee Bar!), and making the time for weekly sunset dates at the beach. They continue to follow the traditions they’ve created—gifting each other bobble heads for Valentine’s Day, seeing Nathaniel Rateliff in concert at least once a year, and reciting their highs and lows each night before bed—as well as the ones they have inherited, like eating homemade lefse at Christmas and banging pots and pans on New Years. Despite never having a true geographical anchor , Lindsey and Eric have anchored a foundation of love over the past six years that is steady, unified, and ever-growing. Eric and Lindsey cannot wait to start this next chapter as a married couple upon this foundation, prioritizing all things they hold dear. Thank you for being a part of our journey and supporting us.

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