We're getting married!

Woody's perspective: We matched on Hinge (an online dating app) and started talking back in May of 2021. Our first date might of not led to a second had it not been for how much Jacob made me laugh. We originally planned to meet up for happy hour. But June in Texas is hot as you can imagine. So we quickly left happy hour in search of dinner. It turns out the whole block of lower Greenville that day was out of power so we ended up 3 restaurants later sipping margs and sweating. If you and your date can survive a first date (inside) with no AC in 100+ degree weather while one of you has awful head pain - then you’re golden! Jacob's perspective: The day we met I was pretty sick, my head was hurting very bad. I have a neurological disease that flairs up from time to time, but I was not going to let that stop me. I was very excited to meet this woman. I decided to meet her in lower Greenville in Dallas TX, at a rooftop bar. From the moment I saw her, I already felt like we had been dating a while. We started off with great conversation, while my head was still hurting and the AC was not working on the block in the dead of summer. Most people would throw in the towel, but not me. I went across the street swallowed a few Tylenol and was good to go. I remember her having the kindest smile and related to my travel stories. I loved listening to her stories. I also loved the way she talked about being a mother and how her daughter, Hannah, was her greatest accomplished. The night went on, we had a blast and I knew that was the last first date I would ever have.

Woody's perspective: Our love for Spain was a huge reason we started talking. Back in the summer of 2021, Jacob's parents were living in Spain. Jacob was originally suppose to be there the whole summer visiting, but his passport had expired and was delayed getting back to him. A week and a half before his parents had a scheduled one way ticket to move back to the states, his passport shows up in the mail! He calls me to tell me and I told him to book a ticket immediately. With his ticket booked, Jacob's mother asked him if he was planning on bring anyone special with him (aka me haha) and with less than 24 hours before the flight was scheduled to leave Jacob had purchased my ticket too! Julie and Mike ended up being the kindest people and the whole trip was magical! Not to mention I got to sleep in, I didn’t have to worry about school drop off all the while walking the streets of my favorite country with a really cute boy.

Jacob's perspective: I wanted to marry Woody pretty much after we got together, but Spain was the icing on the cake. She literally dropped everything to get on a plane within 24 hours to meet my parents and see my happy place. I always wanted to bring a woman to Barcelona because it was home and I felt comfortable there, which is saying a lot for me. However, there was always something missing when I went there. I didn’t know what it was at first. But then I realized it was Stephanie, she was the missing puzzle piece. After I moved, we continued to date and knew the distance between Texas and South Dakota was going to be hard, but it didn’t scare me away. It made me want to marry her even more. I wanted to work hard at this and I knew she was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of life. So, I started learning about rings. I knew I wanted to ask her to marry me at Thanksgiving because it’s my favorite holiday. It’s always the day I get to see all of my family. My whole family and I went and took “family pictures” and that's when I surprised her with the invitation to be my future bride. She said yes and Hannah said no in her giggly seven-year-old way. These two girl chose me!