It was the Sauerkraut
John and Crystal met on the first Saturday of October in 2011. Crystal was a friend of a friend of John's roommate tagging along to John's annual Oktoberfest party. John answered the door in his lederhosen with a liter of beer in his hand. Crystal stood out with her new-to-the-big-city adorableness and, well, her hiking shoes (they’re comfortable!).
Despite the grand introduction, Crystal wasn’t feeling too sure about this guy, with his kegerator and his football and his Cards Against Humanity, but after one bite of his homemade sauerkraut, she started returning his glances across the room. John’s flirtatious insults about her shoes, his insinuations that snowboarding is better than skiing, his “super smooth” acquiring of her digits, and his good sense to call, not text, led her to happily agree to a first date.
Boy and Girl Fall in Love
Many Fun Adventures
Their first date quickly led to more. They found common ground on the skiing and snowboarding issue. They bonded over fantasy fiction, good food, good beer, general silliness, and more. John started referring to Crystal as his "girlfriend" instead of his "lady friend," and very shortly into their relationship they were in love.
They had many adventures together over the next three and a half years. They attended at least five weddings each year. They ran together, biked together, swam together, rock climbed together, and even skied and snowboarded together. Crystal moved in with John, and they cook together, netflix-and-chill together, and [video and tabletop] game together.
They've also taken many trips together, here and abroad, most recently Ireland...
Boy and Girl Get Engaged
She Said Yes!
On April 4th, 2015, John and Crystal touched down in Dublin, Ireland. Jet-lagged but excited, they met up with John's sister Emily and her husband Chris. In on the ruse, Emily and Chris casually mentioned going to "some museum thing." Little did Crystal know, they were actually headed to the Trinity College Library for a little surprise...
John knew Crystal loved books, but her reaction at the library was better than he ever could have hoped. Under the guise of snapping a few photos, John handed the camera to his sister. Eventually mustering up the nerve, John proposed. She said yes! See the whole photo story on iCloud.