Despite both living in Northfield for most of 2018 and 2019—Jacob at St. Olaf College, Annie in her townie apartment—it took a lucky dating app swipe for us to cross paths. On a cold Friday evening in November 2019, we met for coffee at Groundswell Cafe. And stayed until closing time.

A second date happened the very next night. Slowly but surely, the relationship moved past the point where we could count the number of dates.

Our love grew over shared interests in nature, travel, and good conversation over a late-night bottle of wine. Our first trip together was a camping adventure in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The adventures continued in road trips around the Midwest, family trips to Hawaii and Florida, and other spots in the US. Our passports also took us to Barcelona, Prague, and Paris. (Because anyone you still want to hang out with after managing flight delays and jet lag is a keeper.) Somewhere in there, our friends booked a trip to Japan. Hold that thought.

In 2022, we moved in together. But our home wasn't complete until summer 2023, when we adopted a rescue puppy, Freya, who quickly became our adventure buddy and a member of our family.

In March of 2025, we traveled with friends to Japan. Annie thought she had a secret—back in January, she had picked out an engagement ring.

But Jacob had a bigger secret. He'd bought the ring, and he spent the trip waiting for the perfect place and time.

That time came with only two days left in the trip. With our friends, we hiked a beautiful path up Kurama Mountain (near Kyoto), paying our respects at the various shrines along the way.

We stopped to rest at the peak, where we're told a tangle of exposed tree roots symbolizes unity. As the group began to move on, Jacob asked Annie to hang back for a photo. Instead of simply taking a photo together, though, Jacob got down on one knee and asked Annie to marry him.

And, of course, she said yes.