We’re getting married!

Our story goes back a long time... over ten years ago! We met the first week of our freshman year at Hill-Murray School while sitting next to each other in Mrs. Hentges' English class. Matt was a goofy 9th grade boy who loved sports and video games. Jenna was a shy and quiet girly girl. Jenna: "Matt, do you remember when you would throw balls of paper at me in class?" Matt: "Yes" Jenna: "Why did you do that?" Matt: "I don't know - I thought you were weird" Jenna: “Matt tell the truth” Matt: "Ok yeah I guess I had a crush on you." :) We became really good friends throughout our freshman year of high school and Matt always had a secret crush on Jenna. Matt: "Remember when you dyed your hair?" Jenna: "Oh my gosh - you love to bring that up! It was pretty bad huh? (Jenna and her mom did a box highlight and Jenna's hair turned orange). Matt: "I thought it was pretty!" Sophomore year came along and we went to the semi-formal Homecoming dance. This was the first semi-formal dance of high-school and Jenna was so excited to go with her good friend, Matt. At the dance, Jenna danced with her friends in the gym while Matt hung out with the rest of the boys in the cafeteria. It wasn’t your modern teenage fairytale...yet! It took Matt three times asking but as of January 2012 we officially started dating. Matt: "I was finally out of the friend-zone" Jenna: “You’re still my best friend” We continued dating throughout high school. Jenna cheered on Matt at his hockey games, and in the springtime Matt did the same at Jenna's softball games. And there were better dances and proms to follow… modern teenage fairytale!

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? If you know Matt, you know he loves Penn State and specifically their football team. From a young age Matt was brainwashed to be a Penn State fan (Matts words, not Jennas!) When it came time to decide where to go to college, Penn State was at the top of his list. He got accepted and was ready to start the next 4 years of his life in Pennsylvania. Jenna: :( Jenna decided to stay local and went to college near home to stay close to family and friends in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota became Jenna's home. Jenna met lifelong friends, including Goldy! :) End of story, right? Not quite. Although we were 971 miles away from each other we stayed together through four years of long distance. Matt flew home to Minnesota for holidays and special occasions and Jenna flew to Pennsylvania to see Matt in his new home. Although the long distance was not easy - it was worth it and we were both able to grow as individuals. Matt: “It strengthened our relationship” Jenna: “It did, but it was tough”

FINALLY! Now, if you know Jenna, you know her favorite "holiday" is her birthday. (Yes she actually does say this) Jenna's birthday is July 24th. For her "golden" birthday Matt decided this was the perfect time to finally pop the question. So, the day before Jennas 24th birthday, July 23rd, 2020, Matt got down on one knee and asked the big question! The proposal couldn't have gone any better. Matt originally wanted to propose to Jenna in Paris. They had a trip planned for April 2020, but COVID-19 came along... Instead Matt decided to propose on the steps of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. This is where Matt and Jenna received confirmation, graduated high school and went to mass on many Sundays. Matt told Jenna he wanted to take her out to dinner at W.A. Frost to celebrate their birthdays, as Matt's birthday is just 5 days earlier than Jenna's, on July 19th. As we drove to dinner Matt told Jenna he wanted to stop by the Cathedral because he had heard that someone had defaced a statue of St. Michael right outside (there is no statue of St. Michael - but Jenna didn't know this) As we got close to the Cathedral, Matt pulled over, parked and began to get out of the car.... Jenna: "What are you doing?" Matt: "I told you I want to go see the statue" Jenna: "I thought we were just going to drive by it?" Matt: "No I want to see it, plus we are early for our reservation." *We both got out of the car. Jenna admits she was really confused but this isn't really out of character for Matt. He always wants to go look at "historical things".* Jenna: "Ok but why would someone deface a statue of a saint?" Matt: "I don't know, they said he did bad things" Now Jenna is really confused, but everyday with Matt seems to be something new. That's why she loves him so much! Jenna started to walk to the Cathedral, but doesn't see a statue so she begins to walk towards the other side of the cathedral. At this point, Matt grabs Jenna’s shoulder. She turns around and the rest is history!