I had to laugh when I heard how they met because, in our modern age, I cannot tell you how many couples I know who have met online. It’s rare, practically unheard of even, that a real couple met in a bar on a random Friday night. But that’s what happened. Rachel rolls her eyes, saying, “It’s the one way I never wanted to meet someone! In a bar! How cliche!”

Her best friend and maid of honor, Jordan, came to visit her in Iowa City. Rachel wasn’t in the mood for going out, but Jordan talked her into it. They bar hopped to several bars until they ended up at Brother’s. “There was awesome music playing and so we went and danced by the DJ. Kody came up to us on the dance floor and asked to buy us both a drink. We all kept dancing and at some point we lost Kody. Jordan and I got tired so we went and sat at a small table to the side of the dance floor. Kody walked up to our table and asked, ‘Why aren’t you two on the dance floor?’ So we followed him back up for one more song and then he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the bar to get us that drink he had promised earlier. Jordan followed behind us. When we got to the bar, Jordan and I both got a rum and coke. After I handed the drink to her, and while Kody was distracted with paying, Jordan pointed at him and mouthed ‘He’s cute!’ and then she disappeared to let us talk. Kody and I sat at a high-top table next to the bar and talked for almost two hours. Jordan eventually texted me and said she was getting tired so Kody asked for my number, walked me over to Jordan, and then we left for the night.”

Their first date was on February 19th last year at Baroncini Ristorante Italiano in Iowa City. “This was the greatest first date I had ever been on,” Rachel says. “He picked me up, brought me flowers, and then drove us to the restaurant. Dinner and conversation just kept flowing. We ended up being at the restaurant for 4 hours, not even realizing that we had closed down the place. It was already an hour past close. Then we went back to his apartment for another glass of wine and watched his favorite show, Suits. After the episode he drove me home. It was the most electric and joyful date of my entire life.”

Kody says that night was when “I knew I wanted to spend my life with her.” A little over a year later, he proposed to her while they were hiking at Castlewood Canyon State Park in Colorado. “We went out to Colorado with Jordan and her boyfriend, Zach. March 16th was Jordan’s birthday, March 17th we celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day, and then Friday, March 18th, we went hiking at Castlewood Canyon State Park,” Rachel describes. “I was very focused on making sure Jordan and Zach had a nice time so I really wanted them to see the outdoors part of Colorado and how beautiful it is. This hike was also the first hike I took Kody on the first time I brought him to Colorado so this trail had a lot of meaning for us. We walked an hour out and then we started to head back. When we were about 15 minutes out from the car, we got to our favorite lookout spot. Kody wanted to see the view one more time before we left. He asked me to come out on the look out with him, but the way he said, ‘Come here, babe’ just sounded different. My stomach suddenly dropped and I wondered if he was going to propose. Before I know it, he was saying the sweetest things and got down on one knee. He asked me to be his wife and, of course, I said yes! To be honest, I was in such a happy, spiritual state, I had no idea what he said. (I only know because Jordan was filming and I watched later.) All I remember thinking is, ‘Make sure you say yes!'”

We had the perfect fall morning for Rachel and Kody’s engagement session. October has been so beautiful here in Iowa and the timing of all of this worked out so perfectly for us. I am soooo excited for their wedding next summer because these two are a joy to be around!

Because we did their engagement session on Halloween weekend, it only made sense to end with their Halloween costumes.