Our Wedding

Steph’s version

March 2022- “Oh! This guy is cute, I’ll swipe right on him. OH! We matched!”. The 0.15 seconds it took for my index finger to perform that swiping motion is how it all started. Mark came over to my apartment that night and there wasn’t really any conversation but the small amount that we did have made me question if he had ADHD. The night mostly consisted of the awkwardness sitting on the couch together watching a god-awful movie. Mark left shortly after the movie, and I couldn’t help but think of just how awkward and anxious he was. I don’t think I had ever seen someone shake so uncontrollably that didn’t have a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

Fast forward 5 months later. It was now September of 2022 and I decided to redownload Tinder. Shockingly, Mark was my first match this time around. He messaged me asking if I wanted to get together to watch another terrible movie. I had my hesitations as the first time we got together had me remembering him as gauche. I suggested we exchange messages via Snapchat instead. It was two weeks of back and forth all day messaging. Turns out, Mark was so easy to talk to and I felt like we were really connecting. I figured I’d give it another shot and agreed to let him come over to hang out. Next thing I knew, it was November 2022, and I was totally smitten and was ready to make it official.

It took me no time to notice that Mark was shy and reserved and had a very small comfort zone. I took that as an opportunity to plan out some very fun and interesting dates that I knew he would find nerve-racking and somewhat uncomfortable. It gave me great pleasure in knowing that he felt uneasy, but never once did he ever turn down any of my date ideas. I had this man singing and performing choregraphed dances at Karaoke nights to driving out to small abandoned rural towns in North Dakota climbing trees and digging himself under dirt to hide while my beagle and I hunted him down with a paintball gun. All so I could play out my fantasy of tracking down prey in an apocalyptic universe. Mark was always willing to go out of his comfort zone just to watch me enjoy myself and we have made many remarkable memories because of it.

Every time I was around Mark, it's almost like I could see the love radiating off of his face every time he looked at me. I was met with many pleasurable feelings of admiration, value and most importantly safety. I constantly wanted to be around him. He was always so sweet and kind and caring and comforting, not to mention to my surprise, he was very funny in this cute and adorable awkward kind of way. In December of 2023, Christmas day, I unintentionally gave us both COVID. We spent an entire week together sick and quarantined at his house. Even though I felt unwell, it was the best week of my life! It was like a constant high of being able to wake up to, spend the entire day with and end the night with this person who literally feels like my other half in this world (or maybe it was all the cold medicine I was on). Either way, it was then New Years Day 2024. I had no doubt in my mind that this was the man that I wanted by my side the rest of my lifetime to venture this universe with! It was then just a waiting game till March 2024 till he asked me to spend forever with him ❤️

Mark's Version

March 2022- “Well, she’s cute. Let’s see how she swiped.” We ended up matching. She started the conversation, and we ended up planning on hanging out at her place to watch a movie. I was a little nervous, just like I usually am meeting new people. We watched a pretty bad movie called 47 Meters Down. She politely kicked me out after the movie ended by saying she had to work early the next morning. I felt like it was a pretty good night regardless of the movie. I messaged her a few times the next morning but got no response. We ended up not keeping in touch.

5 months later in September, I saw her on tinder again. I decided to swipe right again hoping she would give me another shot. I messaged first this time by asking if she would like to watch another terrible movie together. We ended up talking over Snapchat a lot after that and eventually started going on some dates. I noticed right away that she seemed to have a dry, sarcastic, dark sense of humor. Many times she would say something, and I would think to myself “I can’t believe she actually said this”. Yet I still found her comforting and always felt relaxed in her presence. In November, we decided that we should make it official.

Stephanie always showed how strong of a person she is. When we first started dating, I was very annoyed that she struggled to let me help with simple tasks, or even pay for a meal. It took months of patience, trying, and understanding before she finally came around and allowed me to do those things that I wanted to do for her. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and let you know what she wants. Steph made me comfortable and helped me come out of my shell a lot. I never would have been caught dead going to karaoke before, but with this woman, we have sang multiple duets. We also take many fun photo shoots together, like wearing a pumpkin for a head. In the past year and a half, I have been through so many experiences that I never would have done before her. Steph has always found a way to make me feel safe and loved. Being in her company always helped me feel at ease.

We ended up both getting covid over Christmas 2023. We spent a whole week together. It was an amazing week, even dealing with covid and a rainstorm. After that I decided I wanted to spend all of my time with her. I asked her to move in with me shortly after that. It was amazing getting to come home from work and be with Steph. I have never had someone make me feel so loved and appreciated. She has helped me be a better person than I was before her. She has helped make this house feel more like a home. I started looking at rings and in March 2024, I asked her to marry me. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with this amazing woman.