How We Met

It was the winter of 2017...

The Greatest Showman was dazzling audiences, Al Franken was resigning from the Senate, and Rachel was living in a studio apartment and enjoying her newly-earned freedom. John was working four part-time jobs and finishing his third semester of graduate school. He was also living alone for the first time in his entire life. One night, he was scrolling through online dating profiles and a picture caught his eye. He saw a beautiful redhead…JoJo, the new Jewel-Osco mascot. He also noticed Rachel, another beautiful redhead posing in the mascot’s cutout at a local grocery store.

John read her profile and appreciated how she wrote it like an employee performance review. It had a real cavalier, "I'm sick of this, but I'm also too curious for my own good" attitude. She made him laugh, which he found was very rare on an online dating profile. Rachel read John’s message, checked out his profile and she appreciated how he had written his profile from the point of view of Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Complete with re-worked lyrics to “Part of Your World,” it made her laugh. It had a similar "online dating is the effing worst" vibe to it, and so she wrote him back.

After many promising and very humorous messages, Rachel and John eventually met for their first date. John asked her to dinner at a local barbecue restaurant, not knowing that she was, at the time, a vegetarian. The only thing the restaurant offered non-carnivores was a pathetic romaine salad. John felt sorry for her and he shared his fries with her. That earned him a second date.

On their second date, Rachel quoted Ned Flanders and volunteered to do the dishes; John thought she might be “the one.” They took advantage of the winter break and hung out all the time. Living just four stops apart on the CTA blue line definitely helped. That spring, she met him in Vegas and they enjoyed their first vacation together: a few days in the stunningly beautiful Zion National Park.  She later met his family and even sat with them at his graduation. He spent Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh, where he met her family. On the drive there, Rachel strutted out of a rest stop with a fake mustache and without her coffee, and John knew he had to lock that sh*t down. They fell in love and unbeknownst to her (and anyone outside of Caitlyn), John went about finding an engagement ring.

The following summer, Rachel and John traveled to Spain and spent a week in Asturias with 15 close friends. After John’s college buddies left for the U.S., Rachel and John rented a car and drove to Barcelona. After touring the city and meeting her rival for John’s heart (Nacho), Rachel wondered why John insisted on driving to Cadaqués, a small fishing village two hours north of Barcelona. But she went along for the ride and they enjoyed a memorable dinner and a walk along the coast at dusk. John proposed, and Rachel accepted.

Rachel and John returned to Chicago, moved in together, and started looking for potential wedding venues and wedding dates. 24 months, two apartments, one scrappy dog, and one exhausting pandemic later, here we are. We are so thrilled that we can finally celebrate our wedding with you. After the events of the past many months, the idea of gathering again with friends and family is something we value even more. Thank you for celebrating our big day with us!