It was my parents who first suggested that I try JDate.  I kept telling them I was too busy to date, especially in my third year of medical school.  In part to stop their unrelenting nagging and in part because of the slim chance of finding my Beshert (soul mate), I purchased a 6-month subscription to JDate in January of 2009.  Within two weeks, Katie sent me a friendly message. It was the first and only message to which I ever responded.  Looking through her profile and pictures, I was blown away.  She was amazing in every possible way, except for one little problem:  I was in school in D.C. and Katie was in school in Minneapolis.  I remember showing her profile to my mom and saying, “This girl is so perfect, but she lives in Minnesota!”  Katie and my relationship eventually progressed through increasing levels of digital communication:  JDate to Facebook to AIM to cell phone.  We both really wanted to meet each other, and in March we had our first date.

Katie went on a volunteering bus trip over spring break that started in Minneapolis and ended in D.C.  We had a romantic first date, just walking and talking by the water and monuments, ending with dinner and a movie.  We both had a great time but 1,000 miles were separating us from our second date.  Thankfully, Katie’s mom works for a major airline and Katie can fly standby for free.  For our second date, we had a wonderful weekend together exploring D.C. from the zoo to Chinatown.  For our third date, I flew to Minnesota and met her parents. By May, we made plans to live together over the summer, and we booked a cruise a year in advance.

I proposed on October 28, 2009 during an evening horse and carriage ride through Minneapolis.  We knew each other 8 months since I received her first message on JDate.  Our wedding is set for May 23, 2010, and the cruise we booked last year turned into our honeymoon, departing four days after the wedding.  I will be graduating medical school and starting my residency and Katie will be graduating college and leaving home for the first time to live with me.  I never thought my life would change so much in one year – I found the girl of my dreams. Until we can be together after our wedding, we talk everyday and fly half way across the country as often as possible to see each other.

I would like to thank JDate for getting us in touch with each other.   I would also like to thank our parents for suggesting JDate and supporting us over the past year.  We cannot wait to live together and start a family with lots of JBabies!

Katie and Brian
Mendota Heights, MN and Washington, D.C.