Our first date was at Central Standard in downtown Milwaukee after meeting on a dating app (oh, modern love!). Rachel recognized Riley from when she facilitated an intro-to-business-school course at UW-Madison... that Riley does not remember :)

We hit it off right away and never looked back.

Rachel had just purchased her first house when we met, and Riley asked her to be his girlfriend one night after he came over to help paint the dining room.

We bonded over our love-hate relationships with DIY home-improvement projects and world views.

One-and-a-half years (and many dates) later, Riley rented out his duplex and moved into Rachel's house.

A few months after that, Casanova (Rachel's dog) moved back in with us after a much-needed sabbatical in Kings Valley. Special thank you to Jon, Mitch, and Bernie for giving Nova the chance to build his confidence. We said a very difficult goodbye to Casanova in December 2024, and miss him every day. We know he would have loved his little sister, Rhubarb!

As we started talking about the future, we agreed that we both like the "lake country" area where Riley grew up. We began to look at homes for sale and decided to get legally married (we already lived together, so why not?). Even though we weren't in a rush to move, Riley quickly spotted a house we both loved, and our offer was accepted!

We scheduled an appointment at the courthouse in Port Washington to get married, and invited our parents and witnesses (Megan and Vanessa!). Conveniently, Riley had ordered an engagement ring a few months earlier, and it arrived two days before the ceremony.

We kept the news to ourselves at first, given how quickly things happened, and we wouldn't have had it any other way!

We are grateful for the love and support from our friends and family, and have had so much fun starting our married life together this year.

We hope you will join us to celebrate on our anniversary!

Photos