Story and Photos

Meeting

We admit it, we met on Upward. It seems also that both of us gave this little app a chance. The downside to it was that there would usually only be about 5-10 people in your area who were using it, so you would probably get matched with people dozens of miles away.

And on January of 2021, Abbey and I matched. I went to IU. She went to Ball State.

First Date

It wasn't until May of 2021 that we had our first date. In fact, by the time of the reception it will have been two years and a day since our first date. I made the drive from Bloomington to Muncie and we met at an escape room supervised by Julia, who is now the maid of honor. We went on a walk, played some music, had some dinner, and overall had a wonderful time. But at the end of the first date, she wouldn't kiss me! She booped me on the nose instead when I looked at her on the bridge. Oh, how times have changed.

Long distance

After a few dates over the course of the summer, we decided we were serious enough to go long distance as I moved to Knoxville to start my graduate career and she finished her undergraduate degree at Ball State. We made it a point to meet as much as we could, and we drove to Paris, KY a few times to meet up during the semester. We made time each week to video call. I can't speak for Abbey, but it was hard to make all that time - yet quite worth it.

Short distance

Abbey found a job at the Knoxville Zoo and moved to Knoxville in late May of 2022. Her parents and my parents teamed up to help her move. She moved into a temporary residence for the summer, with a more permanent lease later on. We had plenty of friends and mentors to help us through managing our time, boundaries, and plenty of popped tires. Those video calls turned into long days together. I personally had some trouble making all the time for it, but it was once again well worth it - and even more so this time. Of course, Abbey would tell you that she had enough reason to move to Knoxville anyway because of her job, but by then we both had a pretty good idea of what was next.

Engagement

It was a warm Wednesday afternoon in November. I told Abbey to wear something nice to our walk in the park and got a friend ready to take some photos of us. Considering his need to text me a number of times immediately after Abbey showed up and that I had given Abbey an out-of-character instruction earlier that day, Abbey had a good idea of what was going on. All that said, I think that it would've been difficult to get by with less notice because of the sheer overwhelming excitement of the afternoon. At Abbey's request - the photo is my screensaver on my phone. Would you believe that I was hoping to get work done that evening? I was talked out of it as we celebrated.

Wedding and Photos

We had a small wedding in Fort Wayne, IN. The temptation to elope was there, but we're glad we had our close family there. And after that, we stayed in a Paris-themed AirBnB and then went to Paris. Yes, Paris, KY. And we enjoyed a week in the place we committed ourselves to making it all work all those months ago.

These photos were taken by Shelbie, a friend of Abbey's and a great photographer! Photos

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