We Matched!

Amy kicked off the conversation by smooth-talking Jake into their first three dates in under an hour! Her secret? Viking beards and threatening to throw food!

Before long, we'd been discussing everything from our mutual travel history, to Star Trek and Sunday Roasts with no sign of stopping!

There was very little in the way of productivity those first few days.

Our first date!

This was the day that we finally met face to face. Our first date started at Kongs, the arcade bar on King Street in Bristol.

The first machine we tried (Bubble Bobble) ended up eating our pound coin, so one of the staff loaded it with £20! After that, it was Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Street Fighter until it was time to move next door for pizza.

After some of Bristol's best pizza, we headed back to Amy's to play more video games, as all nerdy couples are want to do.

Finally, at 4am, it was time for Jake to head home — but not before stealing a first kiss!

The day we became official!

After a few weeks of flirting and being pretty much inseparable, Jake asked Amy if they could make things official. Amy however, said that Jake would have to wait; it takes at least 4 weeks for the paperwork to be processed for such an agreement.

She coyly told him that she would let him know when the paperwork was back from the lawyers

Exactly 4 weeks to the date during a lovely afternoon in the park, Amy handed Jake the paperwork: It was a written contract, with many silly clauses such as:

• Section 2. Don’t be a dick!
• Section 6. What will occur in a Zombie apocalypse, and;
• Section 7. Consulting ninjas in times of disagreement.

Jake loved it, and signed excitedly, confirming their mutual affection.

Our first "I love you"!

Shortly into their relationship Amy had the wonderful news that two of her old close friends were tying the knot in Cumbria and she asked if she could bring Jake along to the shindig. Luckily there was space and off they went for their first adventure together.

They explored some of Amy’s favorite places growing up from crazy garden labyrinths, to her old valley of Mallerstang, and the rundown castle Pendragon. It wasn’t long before Jake realised what his gut had been telling him from the first date or two was true — that he loved her!

He decided to tell her on the dance floor of the wedding. Amy at this point just smiled and said, "You know how I feel!" But she of course told him so properly later that night and said the words back.

Our first holiday!

After a grueling time writing her Masters dissertation, Amy was in sore need of a holiday! After some back and forth with our dear friend Cydney, they were off!

First heading to Amsterdam for a few days, they soon travelled through Salzburg, Vienna, and finally to Nice.

It was on September 21st that Jake & Cyd's partner Helder met up with them there.

The four of them spent the next 5 days enjoying the sun and beaches of the Côte d'Azur, visiting Monaco, and climbing a mountain on the outskirts of Tende!

The day we moved across the globe together!

Throughout our story so far, Jake's boss had been after him to move out to Los Angeles to help setup a new company office there. The one thing that was holding Jake back, was Amy.

This, it turned out, was a silly reason not to go — the moment Amy found out, she said, "Let's go!"

So on the 16th of October, they packed up our lives and flew across the globe to land at LAX, ready to start their next adventure together.

The next 6 months were spent making new friends, exploring the wild west, relaxing on beaches, running around adventure parks, screaming on roller coasters and having visitors.

This also allowed Amy to meet and spend lots of time with Jake’s grandmother Wendy in the nearby Palm Springs.

Our trip to Ireland!

For Christmas Amy and Jake met up with Amy’s mum, dad, and Kayleigh (the now maid of honour) in Ireland!

They had a fabulous time attending Amy’s Uncle Peter & Aunt Leslie’s beautiful wedding, cooking christmas dinner at Amy’s Uncle Mark and Aunt Audrey's, exploring the giants causeway, and even a few more castles! There were plenty of shenanigans along the way and a fair few drinks.

This was also the moment that Jake asked Amy's mum and dad for permission to propose to her! They ecstatically said yes!

Silly Jake however came down with a nasty man flu after he overestimated his cold weather endurance abilities as a Canadian. He had not worn a coat when he should have!

The day Jake proposed!

Jake asked Amy to accompany him to San Francisco where a big gaming conference was occurring called GDC. They spent the week making new friends, taking advantage of a couple open bars and checking out all the new cool games.

When the conference was over, Jake took a break from all his work so they could spend the weekend together. Amy had asked to go explore Golden Gate park and Jake finally saw his opportunity to ask a very big question!

Jake had been carrying around the ring his grandmother had given him for some time, and smuggled it away in his pocket for the day.

In the morning they had a fabulous brunch with a bottle of bubbly to help Jake calm his nerves. Then with sweaty palms he anxiously waited until the moment was right, and while in the perennial gardens, he asked Amy if she would agree to marry him. She of course said yes!

The start of our road trip to Canada!

Amy and Jake then went to Canada so Amy could meet the rest of the family. This involved a rather long and hilarious 30 hour journey with Jakes grandmother, auntie and uncle. They weren't sure they were all going to fit at first, but with some extreme tetris skills, squished bums and a couple giggles, they were on their way.

Now this journey will be one retold on many occasions: it included suspect motels, naked ladies, police, the world's smallest pillows and so many laughs that not all pants stayed dry. They eventually all made it to Vancouver Island late into the night.

This visit was a surprise for Jakes mum and dad, one they learnt about very loudly as Jake announced himself at 1am as the “police” knocking on their door. Luckily they were happy enough to see them that they quickly forgave his pranking ways. They then had a wonderful time exploring where Jake grew up the rest of the week.

The day we moved to London!

Most recently, Jake and Amy moved to London for Jake's work.

Amy’s aunty Jen and uncle Paul and cousin Charlotte were kind enough to take them in, and look after them while they looked for their own place.

Since then they have been setting themselves up and planning furiously for the big day. They can’t wait to get everyone together to celebrate their finding of one another and hope to see you all soon.