August 30, 2025
TO HAVE AND TO HOLDFrom Hinge to Happily Ever After
Written by Mikaela
Our story began in 2021 when Sean, fresh from West Virginia and new to Indianapolis, matched with me on Hinge noticing that we shared an interest in artists like Durand Jones and Mayer Hawthorne. Our first date was at Matt the Miller's Tavern in Carmel. We spent hours talking about everything and nothing, where things started to spark and I knew this date was the start of something special.
Our second date, however, was a bit more complicated. We had agreed to meet at El Loco in Fountain Square, but unbeknownst to Sean, there are two El Locos on opposite sides of town. Sean went to the wrong one and thought I'd ghosted him. After a few panicked but trying to play it cool phone calls and a lot of laughs, we finally connected at the right El Loco and had a great time, proving we could handle even the most awkward mix-ups with humor.
By our third date, our fate was sealed. It was Halloween, and Sean made a truly Sean entrance dressed as a raccoon to meet my friends. It was the funniest thing ever, and I saw a side of him that was so genuine and fun. That night made me see that Sean was not just someone I wanted to be with, but the person I was meant to spend my life with. Yes, the guy dressed in a raccoon suit.
It wasn’t long after that Sean started slowly spending more and more time at my apartment in Carmel and his downtown Indy apartment became endearingly referred to as our “condo.” He popped the question in February of 2024 at Hard Truth Acres and we bought a house in May of 2024 that we share with our curious grey cat named Stevie.
Written by Sean
Our story began shortly after my visit to Chicago while staying with one of my Best Friends AJ. He was chatting up that I should try dating and using an app called Hinge. I sat on that idea for a few months and decided to try. Not too long after being on the app I found Mik!
While she covered the first three dates with great details, she didn’t mention that I had stole a blue and white cherry jar from a speakeasy on our second date, which you’ll see tied in throughout our wedding. I knew this relationship was something special when we drove all the way to Hard Truth Distillery in Brown County, IN and took a detour through Bloomington at her old stomping grounds of IU. That day was our first time in a car for multiple hours and spending an entire day together, I knew without a doubt!
The day I proposed was a wonderful crisp winter day, we both took off and headed back down to Hard Truth where we once had one of our very first dates. We stayed on the distillery grounds in a cabin they had just constructed while taking a whiskey tasting tour. Naturally, memory and whiskey don’t mix super well, so my speech I had spent time working up to memorize was thrown out the window. Luckily I had been writing and working on my speech in my phone notes and was able to execute when it mattered. I finally proposed in a private spot of Hard Truth Acres by their newly man-made pond that we had all to ourselves. Although Mik had a feeling, I still think I surprised her when proposing.
Leaving the MOV and moving to Indianapolis has been one of the greatest things that has happened to me and God putting Mikaela in my life has been nothing short of the biggest blessing I have ever received! I look forward to spending our special day with our family, friends, and loved ones!
