Stop us if you’ve heard this before: two not-so-young-anymore professionals swipe right on a dating app and the rest is history.

Our story began with a fateful match on Halloween night in 2018, followed quickly by a first and then a second date. It was then that Deanna took an unusual courtship approach, choosing to obliterate Neel at round after round of bowling.

A bold strategy, to be sure, but the right one: Neel was drawn to Deanna’s ambition and competitive spirit, and wanted to spend even more time together. Deanna, for her part, found herself equally captivated by Neel’s goofy charm and sweet nature. But there was still one problem.

Neel had a cat. And Deanna is (to this day!) afraid of cats. Fortunately, Zorro (or “Kitten” as we still call him) is much more of a ladies’ man than Neel, and his friendly nature quickly won Deanna over. Since then, the three of us have grown inseparable.

The years since have been full of wonderful memories that we cherish. We enjoy traveling, dining out, hiking, and photography excursions. When not adventuring we equally enjoy cooking together and crafting new recipes, listening to music and dancing around the house, or just cuddling up on the couch with Kitten, playing trivia.

Over time, we have come to realize that we didn’t just fall in love, we found our “happy place” in one another. Each passing day sees our bond grow stronger, and we are beyond excited to start this next chapter of our lives together as husband and wife.