Our Story

How did they meet?

Alex and Joe finally decided to take a chance with online dating. After too many disappointments, Joe was about to close down the profile and spend another winter solo. That was until the match...

If this final date didn't go well, it was time to take a break.

After a couple weeks of texting, along with many phone calls that were impressively long, Alex and Joe finally met for breakfast. Alex had her friends on standby to send a search party if she did not update their group after 3 hours. We've all heard the horror stories, and one can never be too careful when meeting people online. The 3-hour mark passed with no updates....They feared the worst! Alex's squad was ready to alert the masses.

Alex and Joe simply lost track of time. Joe's first words to Alex when meeting in person were "I'm in trouble." The breakfast food was mediocre but the first date could not have gone better. Enjoying the chilly fall day with a walk around Prior Lake, they immediately knew they were onto something special.

For Joe, it was his last online date. For Alex, it was both her first and last.

How do they know?

Before even meeting, Alex and Joe were alarmed at the countless similarities and impossible coincidences. Initially, those revelations were counterbalanced by the obvious challenge of having many miles between their two lives. Before the first date, they considered not even meeting each other. Would it be better to avoid the obvious challenges of a relationship between two distant cities?

Alex and Joe agreed that not meeting would have left both of them wondering for the rest of their lives. Their faith, aspirations, and passions were too closely aligned to let the fear of risk leave us with a lifetime of questioning.

As they spent the next year together, they learned that their differences became strengths and their past personal challenges were for a reason in creating the versions of themselves that were meant to be together.

The proposal

When Joe "knew" that he wanted to marry Alex, he took a bread bag twist-tie and wrapped it around the ring finger on her right hand. What started as a simple gesture ended up being the premise for the proposal. As time would go on, the twist-ties would wear out and break. As needed, Joe would wrap a replacement around her finger and collected a stash for such the occasion.

On the night of December 30, 2025, rather than cooking a meal together, Joe got the sudden urge to go out to their favorite Italian restaurant. As Alex was applying her makeup in the mirror, Joe noticed that Alex's twist-tie was missing (how convenient!). After fetching his collection of twist-ties, one "accidentally" fell to the floor which resulted in Joe getting on one knee to retrieve it. From there he grabbed the engagement ring and "popped the question."

Alex said yes! And they enjoyed a lovely evening dinner at their favorite restaurant. They were able to visit family and friends sharing the news as they rang in the new year together.