Christina and Amanda’s first date could’ve gone hilariously wrong. Amanda was late (something Christina now laughs off as “one of her cute quirks”), and the tables at the Mexican restaurant they’d chosen were so close together they could barely hear each other speak.

Then, they headed to the movies, only to find the film they’d hoped to see was sold out.

“It was pretty much the worst scenario for a first date!” Amanda said.

But they improvised, deciding to play glow-in-the-dark mini-golf instead, chatting and laughing their way through six spontaneous hours that they both agree felt more like two. 

Instead of a disaster, the date ended with a kiss and a promise to meet up later that week. (Which they did. Twice!)

Since then, the Michigan-based duo have traveled all over the U.S. and to three different countries together. They plan to visit every continent eventually. In May, as they approached two-and-a-half years since their first date, they got engaged in idyllic Thailand. 

Here’s their love story in their own words.

Christina:

I remember looking at Amanda’s Bumble profile pictures with my best friend, who gave me some advice on what to say first. Once we started talking, we never had problems keeping our conversations flowing.

The second she walked into the restaurant on our first date, I was in awe. She was so beautiful! We had a great meal and planned to head to a movie after. As it turns out, the movie was too full. My favorite part of the night is how we improvised by going mini-golfing. I knew I wanted to see her again when she jumped up on one of the the fake rocks and started using her putter as a lightsaber.

Our first date lasted six hours. I didn’t want it to end. This was also her first date with a girl. We stood outside our cars for a while talking before we hugged. As she went to walk away, I pulled her back in and kissed her. It ended up being very sweet and I smiled the whole car ride home.

Amanda consistently tells me how proud she is of me even when I’m not feeling empowered myself. She gives me courage to stand up for things I am passionate about and gives me the self-esteem to push forward every day to make the most out of life. She loves to be adventurous and travel.

I love to cook, and she makes me laugh when she wants me to teach her how. We just genuinely love spending time together and talking about our plans for the future.

My advice for anyone too nervous to make the first move? Read the vibe that the other person is giving off. If you are both genuinely having a good time and feel comfortable with one another, go with the flow.

Amanda:

When I first saw Christina on Bumble I thought it was too good to be true! Her smile and eyes drew me in and I just had to talk to her. I immediately swiped right and kept checking to see if we would match. I remember that we talked about books, and I loved that.

On our first date, I was so infatuated. She was confident, beautiful, intelligent, and artistic. I felt like I was in a dream because she had all of the qualities I had been looking for, but never found.

At the end of the date, we were waiting by our cars, shivering because it was mid-January in Michigan. After nervously saying our end-of-the-night goodbyes, she gave me this adorable look that I’ll never forget that seemed to say, “you really aren’t gonna kiss me after all that?” Then she pulled me in by my coat and kissed me. I was so nervous because I liked her so much, and I just remember having massive butterflies! 

Our six-hour-long first date felt like two hours. We had such a great time that we planned our second date for just a few nights later. Our third date was in the same week, and ever since, we’ve been inseparable.

I moved in with her in September of 2017. We love to travel, cook (well, she cooks and I pretend to help), dance around our house, dream about our future, and play music together.

We recently got engaged in Thailand. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have met Christina. I fall more in love with her every day. I can’t wait to marry her.

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