Our Dating Story

We met with our (officially signed!) photographer, Chelsea Fluharty Photography, yesterday, and one of the first things she asked is how we met.

Here’s the thing: Johnny and I can’t figure out when we met. We both attended Washington College (I graduated in 2008 and he in 2011), I know he worked on my computer when I first started as an admissions counselor in 2008, and there’s a picture in my senior yearbook that I remember taking of him and his friend Woody in the Language Lab sometime in the fall of 2007 or spring of 2008 (for the Modern Languages spread — I was editor of the yearbook my senior year).

So…it was sometime between 2007 and 2008.

At first, our relationship was all about work — as a student, and then immediately after graduating, Johnny (just “John” to me then) worked at the campus Help Desk, and then became Help Desk Manager (now he’s Director of Client Support and Technical Services). He’s the best customer service person on campus. I always liked calling ‘John’ to figure things out!

It wasn’t until summer 2013 that we talked about more than work, and that I saw him socially outside work. At the time, we were hanging around the same group of colleagues, and we got to talking. I had just ended a long-term relationship, and was sort of seeing someone else, but Johnny was so much fun to talk to– he was funny, sweet, and had an infectious laugh (and of course he’s easy on the eyes).

We made plans to grab a milkshake and walk by the water on a summer evening. We ended up talking for 6 hours. It started to become a regular thing — we’d grab a milkshake (I drank so many milkshakes that late summer!) and would walk by the water, always stopping to sit at the edge of the Washington College dock or along a bench in Wilmer Park.

A few weeks of this, and we decided to go on an ‘official’ date. We made plans to have dinner together at Brooks Tavern (which is now closed). It was, hands down, the most awkward date ever. We both didn’t know what to do with ourselves. I thought for sure I’d blown it, that we’d never hang out again.

Then I started crazy travel for work – I spent time in Toronto, La Jolla, L.A., Denver, Boulder, and all over Baltimore. I was gone for 21 straight days, and then so many day trips beyond that time.

But here’s the thing — he made a point to text or message me every single day. Every day! When I came back from travel, we became almost inseparable. We hung out every single day.

By the end of October (on Halloween!), I wanted more. In sweet middle school fashion, I asked Johnny to be my boyfriend (oh my I still get butterflies thinking about that conversation now).

In that short time, we’d become the greatest friends, and I so wanted to be more. We continued to hang out every single day, spending whole weekends together.

After we made a trip away together (to Concord, Massachusetts) a couple of months later, and endured hours upon hours in horrible weather and traffic together, coming out of it happy and craving more time together, that’s when I knew he was’ the one.’ I think I knew long before that, but that trip sealed the deal for me.

(here we are at Walden Pond. That trip was SO much fun!)

We continued to have what I call ‘the best year ever’ – 2014 was so much fun, between all of our trips, spending so much time together and always craving more, to getting ENGAGED at Yellowstone, moving in together, and now planning our wedding and our future together. I can’t wait to continue writing our story!