Our Story
It Started on the Dance Floor
Joe and Tracy met thanks to a little help from family (the best kind of matchmaking).
After Tracy met Joe’s sister, Natasha, and her husband, Dylan, in October, 2022, she kept hearing about “this brother” she absolutely had to meet. As luck would have it, Dylan’s band, RADO, was playing a show in December — and that’s where it finally happened.
They met on the dance floor. There was dancing.
There was yelling (Joe, not Tracy).
There were rapid-fire questions, a few personal tidbits shared between songs, and before the night ended, numbers were exchanged and a date was set for later that week.
It was an instant spark.
On that first date, dinner was mostly ignored — the conversation was far more interesting. They both remember smiling and laughing the entire night.
And they haven’t really stopped since.
Over the next two and a half years, there were camping trips, countless days at the park with their dogs Darla, Archie, and now Lonny, and many Saturdays cheering on Michigan State with Natasha and Dylan.
Go Green.
Washington Park became one of their favorite places — a regular backdrop to their everyday life together.
The Proposal
After dropping a few subtle (and not-so-subtle) hints that something might be up, Joe suggested a walk through Washington Park.
As they followed one of their usual paths, Joe began handing Tracy photographs — pictures he had secretly taken on that very trail over the years. Each one captured a small moment in their story.
When they reached the park, they noticed a couple getting engaged ahead of them. Joe insisted they should go congratulate them.
This was Tracy’s worst nightmare — intruding on someone else’s big moment — so she tried to keep her distance… at one point nearly walking away entirely.
After some encouragement, the “newly engaged” couple invited them to come closer and celebrate. Instead of someone else’s proposal, Tracy found herself standing in front of a table covered in flowers and photos from her own life with Joe.
The couple? A decoy.
Joe got down on one knee, confessed to orchestrating the entire setup, and asked Tracy to marry him.
She said yes.
And now they’re getting married — and would love nothing more than to celebrate with you.