Jimell and Miia met online way back in 2017. Ever the planner, Miia scheduled a lunch date at a spot by her office the day before Thanksgiving, knowing work would get out early and that she had some time to fill before catching a flight home later that night.

Miia remembers Jimell wearing an Orioles winter hat and knowing that he was a good guy within 3 minutes. Jimell remembers Miia wearing a sparkly sweater and ordering a giant sandwich. Much to Miia's surprise, turned out Jimell lived not in Mt. Vernon, VA, nearish where this meet up was taking place, but alas, in Mt. Vernon, Baltimore where he had just moved to be a single guy in the city and where Miia had not spent much time, in true DC fashion. So, you know, not an ideal logistical start.

However, over the next year and a half, the two spent a lot of time getting to know each other's lives and cities, and a lot of time driving up and down 95, making the 1-2 hour schlep each way in the name of a growing love.

Miia learned Baltimore was far more than just the stadiums, enjoying its historic charm and reasonably-priced cocktails while also gaining an appreciation for camera stuff, how good at fixing things Jimell was, and being overall smitten with the care he showed her and everyone & everything in his life.

Jimell also learned DC had more to offer than he originally thought (having grown up just outside of the city in Northern Virginia), enjoying its many, many restaurants where they went to eat and all the unique activities they could hit up. Thanks to Miia, he gained an appreciation for the power of hugs, how much she valued her friends and family, and, of course, learned way more about skating than he ever thought possible (shoutouts to his faves, DC EDGE and Chock & Bates).

By Summer of 2019, knowing this was going somewhere meaningful, Jimell moved on down to DC and they shared their first place together. Then came COVID, and they spent A LOT of time together, staying sane and safe in their one-bedroom apartment and getting to truly know each other 24/7. They also got to know that they needed more space but still wanted to live a city life, so they moved together to an amazing carriage house in Baltimore in September 2020, ironically just a few blocks from where Jimell originally lived.

It is in this amazing carriage house where the proposal occurred in May 2022. After a foiled attempt or two (weather-related), Jimell was coming home from an out-of-town shoot and knew he had to make it official when he got back. His plan was to come home, immediately go upstairs and surprise Miia working at her desk, because she was always working at her desk. But alas, she was downstairs making him welcome-home cookies, and needless to say, Miia became quite confused as to why he was so concerned about her being downstairs making him cookies.

The day played out and Miia fell asleep on the couch, watching one of the dozens of relationship/reality shows in her rotation, Married at First Sight. Miia remembers being woken up by Jimell on one knee with Bruno Mars playing, so she obviously thought she was in a dream where she had inserted herself in one of these shows. Once she realized this was in fact reality, not a reality show, she of course said "are you serious?" then "yes!" to a lifetime of adventure.

They have enjoyed getting back to these adventures, traveling near (hitting all the historic downtowns of MD and VA as well as Philly, NYC, Buffalo, & NC) and far (New Orleans, Chicago, Puerto Rico, London, Mexico City, Toronto, France, and some sub-zero Christmases in MN) so it only made sense to bring this wedding shindig on the road!

M&J

The Big Day