Monica + Hunter
How They Met
Monica and Hunter met on Hinge, but Monica didn’t even make her own Hinge profile. Her friends threw it together on New Year’s Eve, and she just left it, figuring, “Why not?”
Enter Hunter, who slid in with a comment about her chopstick skills (thanks to a sushi photo her friends had picked). That one little message actually worked. 🍣
They kept talking, met up at Backpocket in Dubuque, and just like that, her friends’ half-joking profile turned into the start of something real. Guess the matchmakers knew what they were doing after all!
“He is the best guy I have ever known, and I can’t wait to spend my life with him.” – Monica
The Proposal
Monica knew Hunter had been ring shopping, so the only mystery left was when and how he’d actually do it.
Just a week after their second anniversary, Hunter pulled it off in the sweetest way.
He surprised her at her parents’ house, where she usually has dinner on Monday nights. Surrounded by her Mom, Dad, and brother in the home where she grew up, he asked her to marry him.
He even had a whole speech prepared, but Monica? Yeah, she basically blacked out and didn’t hear a word of it. (The proposal blackout is so real!) She had to make him repeat it later when they got home.
In the end, it was exactly what she wanted. As she put it, “I truly loved how he asked me in front of my family, and didn’t have a huge crowd. It was so special to me.”
Monica & Hunter’s Backpocket Brewery Dubuque Engagement Session
They love Backpocket Brewing, and it was also the location of their first date, so it was a natural choice for engagement photos. Bonus, it has an arcade and beer.
We decided that drinking half a beer before I show up should be standard engagement session practice for couples everywhere. Write that down, that’s a free tip. 🍻
They told me to expect awkwardness, but in fact, they freakin crushed it. 😍 Whether it was the beer, the fun environment, or the fact that they are secretly both professional models… I can only speculate. 🤷♀️
We took a short walk around the Millwork District in downtown Dubuque. We stopped at Dolph’s Bar courtyard, where they have bundled up and watched the Super Bowl together for the last couple of years.
Last but not least, sunset at the Mines of Spain! I hadn’t been there in a while, and I missed it!
3 words to describe Hunter, by Monica | supportive, patient, endearing
3 words to describe Monica, by Hunter | loving, devoted, silly
I knew I wanted to spend forever with my love when…
Monica: “Hunter and I had been together for about 6 months, I think. … I know that is kind of early, I wasn’t going to rush it. But I knew by the way he treated me, my family, and our deep conversations that he was the one for me. He also has never been afraid to just be himself with me and be goofy; I have always been very attracted to that.”
Hunter: “I noticed I was thinking about our wedding when we weren’t together. Not a single moment that it clicked, but I noticed I kept thinking about it, and that’s when I was sure I wanted to marry Monica. This was maybe 6 months or so before I proposed.”
What is something you both have in common?
Monica: “We both love animals and watching football.”
Hunter: “We value family time.”
What is something totally different about the two of you?
Monica: “How we grew up. I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Iowa. Hunter grew up in Jacksonville, Florida!”
Hunter: “Monica is not a dally-er, and I tend to dally.”
What is a fun fact/something people might not guess about your fiancé?
Monica: “Hunter enjoys fantasy football … he is in multiple leagues and loves the statistics of football, the players, and everything about it.”
Hunter: “Monica has two crooked pinky fingers.”
What part of the wedding are you looking forward to most?
Monica: “Exchanging rings and our first kiss as husband and wife. I have been looking forward to this for a long time, and I can’t wait to call Hunter my husband. He is the best guy I have ever known, and I can’t wait to spend my life with him.”
Hunter: “Standing at the altar with Monica.”
Tomorrow is the big day for these two, and I can’t wait!
If these photos resonated with you, & you’re getting married in Iowa, Illinois, or Wisconsin, click over to my contact form & drop me a line.
