How it started
“When I saw he had not one but two inhalers on his bathroom counter and was involved in THREE different DnD campaigns — it was a done deal for me.
— Marissa
“I remember how easy it was to talk with her right away. I’ve never had conversation flow so naturally and immediately. I knew right then that we had something together.”
— Jake
Marissa & Jake
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Nine months later, Marissa and her cat Hattus moved into Jake’s apartment (to his dog Ponyo’s disappointment) and shortly after he left for his first deployment to the Amundson-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. After three months away from each other, they met back up and spent two weeks traveling and camping in New Zealand where they climbed their first literal mountain together. Once they were home, they then survived a pandemic together by sipping wine and playing lots of cribbage on their balcony. Meanwhile — Jake already had his proposal planned.
Early on Marissa mentioned seeing the northern lights was on her bucket list — so Jake wanted to make it happen. With the ring in tow, they planned a trip to Iceland in the fall of 2021. After some delays, the two arrived at 6 a.m. outside of Reykjavík. They gathered their sleeper van and some food, then headed off to their first camp-site. There, jet-lagged and weary, the two slept easily, only to wake up at 2 a.m. to the first glimpses of the aurora borealis. Jake pushed Marissa to set up for a few photos (they had to commemorate the event, after all) and used the diversion to make his move. There, on November 12th, Jake got on one knee and proposed.
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Jake and Marissa accidentally avoided meeting for the better part of six months. Their mutual friends, Pete and Susan, had both hinted and planned introductions, but both of the pair evaded connecting due to low expectations of blind dates. It wasn’t until December 2nd, 2018 the two finally made it to a board game night that had them flirting for the first time over games of “Codenames” and “SevenWonders.” In a little over a month later, they’d go on their first formal date on January 19th, 2019. That day in Monroe, after dining at the Minhaus Winery, getting a flight (or two) at the Bullquarian, and settling in at a high-top at Flannagan’s Shenanigans, Marissa and Jake would share their first kiss (moments after the photo above).
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Since their engagement — Marissa and Jake bought and moved into their first house in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Here, with Ponyo and Hattus, they enjoy hosting board game nights with friends and keeping the local cheese store in business.
Jake and Marissa are looking forward to a lifetime of board game nights together.
And the rest is history
Did we mention we’re excited to party with all of our favorite people?