how we met
It was by complete chance that we met! Mike and I were both at a country music festival with over 50,000 people. We came with separate groups of friends and were connected by one of Christine’s closest friends, Casey. Years prior, she went to a summer camp with Mike and happened to run into him at the concert. I instantly thought he was handsome and was excited that he decided to join us for the last performer in the line up, Tim McGraw.
Two days later, I went back to college at Iowa State University for sorority recruitment and was convinced that dating Mike wouldn’t work out since he went to school in Minnesota at St Olaf College. Mike promised to come visit me in Iowa, and I was skeptical that he would drive all that way for a girl he just met. After talking on the phone and texting for nearly a month, Mike came to Iowa State to visit for the weekend. We both knew that weekend that we had something special and decided to date despite the distance. We dated long distance throughout college until I moved back to Minnesota three years later. Neither of us ever thought we’d met the love of our life at a country music festival – but we are so happy that we did!
how they asked
Six years later, Mike planned the most beautiful, thoughtful proposal! I recently got a new camera and wanted to learn more about photography. Mike suggested that we do a fall “photo shoot” with our dog, Fulton. I thought it was the perfect idea! We live in a historic area of Minneapolis and decided to take the photos there. The morning of the proposal, I had no clue what he was planning and decided to wear a t-shirt and yoga pants. Mike had another plan in mind and convinced me to change into a plaid shirt that matched his shirt. I didn’t think anything of it since he said he wanted us both to individually get in the photos with the dog.
We began the “doggie photo shoot” at the Mill City Ruins, which is a historic site by the Mississippi River. I quickly remembered a spot that I see photographers taking pictures at and asked Mike to stand there with the dog. I was playing perfectly into Mike’s plan without knowing it.
That spot was exactly where he planned to propose. He got down of one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so excited to spend the rest of my life with him and said “yes!”
While Mike was proposing, our dog saw someone and was quite suspicious about what was going on. He had spotted someone taking photos of us! Mike had arranged for a photographer, Jeannine of Jeannine Marie Photography, to take photos of the entire proposal. It is so sweet that he thought of it, and it is so great to have pictures that capture our happiness on this day.
We were so excited to be engaged and wanted to share with our family! Since they live close, Mike suggested that we tell them in person. Once we got to his parent’s house, I was surprised to see our family and friends there. Mike had planned a surprise engagement party with both of our parents, several close friends, my brother and grandparents. It was such a lovely surprise and a great way to celebrate our engagement. It was truly an amazing proposal – and we can’t wait to get married in September!
