Our Story

How We Met

We met for our first date on Friday, December 2, 2016, after matching online. We attended an art show (of course) by Leslie Iwai at James Watrous Gallery, followed by dinner at Graze and drinks at the Great Dane in downtown Madison.

What happens when two type-A, serious, snarky, old souls meet for a first date? We test each other. We challenge and debate. We talked about books, spreadsheets, and politics. Christopher laughed when he learned that Jenie also had a library spreadsheet. Jenie waved off the shared quality, openly judged a business book that Christopher recommended, and quietly judged whether Christopher was an adventurous enough traveler.

We were having our final beer of the night when our conversation turned to social justice, and the defining exchange of our first date. This was December 2016, after all, and Standing Rock versus the Keystone XL pipeline was on both of our minds. As we discussed the protest, Christopher asked, “How would you defend this issue from someone who disagreed with you?” Hold up, those of you who know us well might be thinking. Did Christopher really ask Jenie on a FIRST date to demonstrate how she crushes her enemies in a debate? Jenie: “Okay, let’s start by calling out the red herrings when people defend new oil pipelines, and prove why new pipelines are unnecessary and irrelevant.” Frankly, with a lesser man, this could have resulted in that being our last date.

But two months later, as we were falling in love, Christopher cited that debate as the moment he knew. To quote a super adorable text: “It’s that brain I like the best. That first night at Great Dane when we were talking about social issues, I knew right then. It’s hard to put into text clearly, but there are several somethings about you that I enjoy. You’ve had my full attention since the day we met.”

Our Engagement Story

On October 17, 2020, Jenie called the mothers, Amber Harvey and Tung Yuan (Anna) Hsiao, to ask for their blessings. At a blustery view point atop Gibraltar Rock that same afternoon, we stopped for a picnic. Jenie handed Christopher a box with a surprise treat, containing locally made macarons by The Baked Lab and a hand illustrated letter with the words, “Will you marry me?” He said yes.

By the power vested in cookie law, we were officially engaged. We are so excited to get beer law married, courtesy our friend and officiant, Jessica Jones, of Giant Jones.

Who We Are

Jenie is a full-time artist, creative director, and entrepreneur. You have probably seen many of her murals, artworks, and initiatives around the region. She consults cultural organizations in best practices centered on equity and advocates for fair pay and labor rights for artists. She runs an anti-gentrification art studio in the Cap East District of Madison. Jenie loves introducing status quo challenging ideas, and bringing together audacious visions with well calculated plans. Jenie is the extrovert, networker, and historian in this family, responsible for communications with the world and receiving intel. She is the helm and command center of this ship overseeing the vision, social presence, and direction of the household.

Christopher is a transformation lead at CUNA Mutual Group, ex-entreprenuer, and a Navy veteran. He’s a smarty pants with an advanced degree in biomedical engineering and soon an MBA, which came in handy when he helped out with Wisconsin’s COVID response plan. Christopher loves architecting processes and the invisible systems that make things work better. Christopher is an introvert who creates his own energy, and arguably all the energy in the world that extroverts rely on, take for themselves, and distribute. He keeps Jenie hydrated and fed, clothes laundered, and the household in smooth operation.

Charlemagne is Jenie’s adopted son and king of the Franks reincarnate. He loves his mama, catnip, belly rubs, and pom poms on strings. He has accepted Christopher as a capable food preparator, poop scooper, and couch buddy. He will not be attending the wedding ceremony because he does not like the big room with no ceiling.

Final Note

We love that our love story is so well rooted in our community, and we hope you do, too. From local art to food to geography, we are so grateful to have cultivated our relationship in the full embrace of what makes our Wisconsin home so special.