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John and Steff met through a good mutual friend; Kayla Haar in October of 2017. Like how all love stories begin; this one began at a Beer Circus in Chicago with quite a crazy first day/date.

Steffanie was with her friend Kayla earlier in the day having brunch, when John texted Kayla to hang out with him at the Beer Circus- which was at one of John’s customers. John was interested in Steff right away and Steff on the other hand, was maybe just enjoying the wackiness of the circus more than the attention from John- sorry love.

The three of them left to have some sushi, where Kayla ended up leaving them alone. John asked Steff to hang out the rest of the day and show her some of his favorite spots, since Steff was semi-new to the city. They started their day with a private rooftop experience at Drum Bar (John likes to joke that he rented it out, he didn’t lol). This is also where they had their first kiss, yes within a few hours of meeting (sorry Mom and Dad).

After the rooftop, John picked up a very expensive bottle of wine; Opus One. Very much trying to impress Steff by taking her to Adler Planetarium, where there is great overlook of the city skyline, just to spill the barely opened bottle all over the grass (that one sip was delightful though). They then went to play some games and talk more at The Chicago Athletic Association, where Steff was warming up to John.

John left a couple days later for a trip to New Zealand to see his sister studying abroad with his mom. The two hadn’t stopped talking since that night and they soon got a puppy (Steff trapped John with) to seal the deal and the rest is history!