Wedding Date on May 19, 2018

It all began six years ago. I had recently graduated from Minnesota State University of Mankato and was working my very last shift as a server at a local restaurant when Jason and his friend sat down at a table in my section. He was very charming and made a great first impression, but we never introduced ourselves. My shift was cut short and another server took my place serving them. I moved to the Twin Cities (1.5 hours away) where I then started my career. My best friend was finishing up college in Mankato so I often went back to visit her on weekends. One weekend while visiting, we went to a dance club and I saw Jason sitting with a group of guys across the room. I remembered serving him months prior and proceeded to walk up to the table alone, pointed him out and asked him to get up and dance with me. He told me no and said he couldn’t dance. I wasn’t taking no for an answer so I remained standing in front of his table. With a nudge from his buddy and a little encouragement from his guys, he finally got up and danced with me. We danced the night away and exchanged numbers at the end of the evening. Little did I know, I had selected my future husband that night. I frequently visited my friend in Mankato and continued to randomly run into Jason. It wasn’t until that he reached out to me and asked me to go on our first date. Our first date was one to remember. Jason drove up to the Twin Cities in a snow storm. With the bad weather and it being a , I anticipated this being a quick bite to eat. When we got to the restaurant, I couldn’t help but notice how nervous Jason was as he rolled his napkin repeatedly the entire evening. We hit it off right away and talked for hours and hours. We found that we had a lot to talk about and so much in common, there wasn’t enough time in the evening to fit it all in. When the date came to an end, he drove me home and now even I was so nervous that I jumped out of his moving car before it came to a complete stop, then waved him goodbye. He called his sister immediately and asked what is means when a girl jumps out of a moving vehicle and waves you goodbye after the first date (haha). She told him he didn’t stand a chance and to move on, he lost this one. Luckily, Jason bit the bullet and reached out to me the next day. From that very first date, Jason and I made the effort to see each other every single weekend for an entire year without missing a single weekend. We held a long distance relationship for three years until I finally found a career in Mankato and moved there. We took many vacations together, but the one that stands out the most is where he proposed. We went to Saint Barth’s Island and hiked down to a secluded ocean front bay (it was stunning!). My brother and his wife pretended to take a photo of us and then Jason turned me towards him and got down on one knee. Our wedding day was truly everything we could have asked for and more. We have now been together for six years and our love only grows stronger for each other each and every day.