chapter one: pachinko
as many great stories begin, ours starts in a tacky dive bar in covington, kentucky, around 9pm on june 27th, 2014. it was joe's first night out on the town as he had just arrived for a 90 day technology accelerator. his plan was to stay the 90 days and return to his life in los angeles immediately after the program concluded. meg was making an effort to "mix it up" with a couple of girlfriends after 3 years in cincinnati at procter & gamble, so the night kicked off at pachinko. three girlfriends met three new guyfriends and a group friendship was formed.
Chapter Two: A Cincy Lifestyle
joe and meg developed a close friendship filled with concerts, dancing, deep conversations, and lots of laughs over the next several months, and on day 87 of the program, joe finally convinced meg to start dating. joe made an incredible and bold decision to stay in cincinnati for his startup, and their relationship grew stronger and stronger with time. tides were changing for meg, however, and it was time for her to follow her dream of graduate school. so the happy couple was off to chicago where meg could attend the kellogg school of management mba program.
chapter three: Oh, Chicago
the focus of their lives quickly shifted to their careers and how to make their individual ambitions work as a partnership. meg recruited for competitive consulting positions across the world and built a life within the kellogg mba community. joe buckled down to design and engineer new digital capabilities that he was passionate about, and they explored one of their favorite cities: chicago. after countless presentations, costume parties, exams, and interviews, meg proudly graduated with a kellogg mba in june 2017 with joe standing by her side.
Chapter four: Santa Monica livin'
while earning an mba and attending kellogg had been a lifelong ambition of meg's, joe's career was pulling him to a different location. in november 2016, the fashion tech world called joe to santa monica to lead engineering efforts for the aussie founded startup, shoes of prey. meg was excited to join her wonderful fiancé out in santa monica upon graduation where life is beautiful, the beach is one mile away, and delightful sun rays grace their faces on a daily basis.
Chapter five: The Landons Down Under
joe and meg are absolutely ecstatic to be kicking off their newlywed chapter by living out one of their joint dreams: living abroad. meg will be joining the consulting firm, bain & company, in the melbourne, australia, office in early 2018, and joe will continue as director of engineering for shoes of prey from aus. they are excited to take on this new adventure, officially decide which aussie footy team to support, and hone their surfing skills over the next several years. but most importantly, they hope to welcome all of their friends and family to their new home down under!
Somewhere in the Middle...
well, august 13, 2016 to be exact. but a couple months prior and after an intense first year at kellogg, meg and joe embarked on a summer adventure in melbourne, australia. it wasn’t all fun and games, however, as meg was taking on a challenging summer internship with bain & company. meanwhile, joe was on a mission as well. prior to their departure, joe confided in meg’s dad that he planned to propose and asked for his blessing. that was the easy part!
thousands of miles away, finding the perfect ring meant finding the perfect jeweler in the melbourne central business district. as joe bid meg a good day at her office, he popped over and took the plunge. the perfect ring secured, the new task at hand was to craft the proposal. most likely inspired by an incredibly romantic film, meg expressed how romantic it would be if joe captured his perspective on how he fell in love and the early days of their relationship.
taking up the challenge, joe secretly wrote in a journal each day while meg was at work. using an artist’s scalpel, he carved a hole in the pages towards the back of the book and secured the ring inside. on a saturday, in a quiet nook on the grounds of the melbourne botanical gardens, joe presented meg with the wrapped journal. they read the book together and just as they were about to reach the ring, a bus full of tourists appeared in the grove! joe managed to stall the moment until they left and quickly flipped to the back of the book, revealing the ring. he asked her to marry him and well, i guess you know what she said! (yes.. she said yes)