Joe & Beth

About Us

How We Met

It was a match made… online? I first talked to Beth via an online dating service. My initial message asked about one of her favorite things (her dog Niko) and mentioned one of my favorite things (my dog Princess). Soon after, we had our first date at a local bakery shop. Even though I was my usual quiet self and Beth wasn’t quite sure what to think, there was a second date! It was a short hike at John Bryan State Park with our puppies. Beth must’ve known what to think this time, because we have had many meals and hikes together ever since.

The Proposal

One of the things Beth and I enjoy doing together is hiking. On our first trip to Hocking Hills together, she told me how special that place was to her and off-handedly mentioned that she always wanted to be proposed to there. I took a mental note in case things were to ever escalate…

Fast forward a little over a year. We had been talking about getting engaged for a while and finally bought a ring. Christmas was a few days away and I thought she would enjoy showing off a little bling over the holidays. Even thought it was a long drive for one day, I suggested we go hiking at Hocking Hills on Christmas Eve.

The previous couple of days it had rained fairly hard, but that day it was dry, leaving the streams and waterfalls full and rushing. Very few people were there. I found the perfect location at Cedar Falls - a small peninsula jutting into the stream, just off the path and beside a rather private waterfall.

I tell Beth I have something to read to her and pulled a list out of my pocket of ten things I love about her. I stood beside her so she could read it silently as I read it aloud. Then, after I finished, I got down on one knee, showed her the ring, and asked her to marry me. She said yes!