Local Love: Keely + Dylan

Dylan and I met in December of 2018 after I had become friends with his best friend, Seth. Seth would always bring up his friend, Dylan, and I was always drawn to Dylan; I knew I had to meet him. One day I told Seth to give Dylan my Snapchat so I could talk with him, and the connection began instantly. After talking with Dylan the first day, I messaged my best friend, Katie, “If Dylan listens to the same music I do, I will marry him.” It turns out he definitely listens to the same music I do. Dylan and I met for the first time that night, and the connection grew even more. We walked around the riverfront and around Washington Park for hours and genuinely loved each other’s company. He left to help Seth move and came back to my apartment that night, and we started talking about how it felt like we knew each other forever when we had literally just met that day. We were both fascinated by that. We knew that first night that we were soulmates, no matter how cheesy that sounds. 

We started dating, and everything was perfect. Dylan and I started to discuss what we wanted our futures to look like together, began traveling frequently, and got to know each other’s families and friends. I fell head over heels for his family. In December 2019, I went on one of the Schoonover family vacations to Kissimmee, Florida, and Dylan and I celebrated our one-year anniversary at Disney World. It was such a great time, and we went on many more vacations with his family.

Dylan and I moved in together after a year of dating. Dylan had a dog named Hershel, and I had a cat named Lyra we introduced to each other, and they kept their distance but got along fine. In October 2020, a neighbor knocked on our door and told us they had found two kittens and wanted us to leave them on our porch because they felt the mother cat lived around our place and would find them, so we agreed and carried the kittens to our house. Dylan and I looked at them and decided to bring them in for the night because it would be cold, and they were so tiny. After a couple of days of caring for them, we kept them and named them Salem and Willow. Then, in September 2021, I came home from visiting Dylan at work and had a small animal run inside the house. Hershel began to sniff under the couch, and I looked under it and found another small kitten. I got her out from under the couch; she was the sweetest kitten ever. We also decided to keep her since she chose us to be her family and named her Stella.

Then, on January 29, 2022, Dylan and I went on a date night. We went to eat at El Rancherito and then went to Washington Park since it was still decorated for Christmas like it was when we first started dating. When we got to Washington Park, we walked to the Christmas tree in the middle of the park, and Dylan asked if I could answer a question (I had a margarita), and I said yes, and he told me to close my eyes. I closed my eyes, and when he told me to open them, he was on one knee and asked me to marry him. I instantly said yes. We celebrated by getting a bottle of Spirit Knob wine and watching a movie together. It was one of the best days.

We started wedding planning almost immediately. We toured Lakeview Weddings pretty soon after our engagement and booked our photographer, Amber Rhea, a few days after our engagement. Dylan and I continued to work as a team to plan our wedding. Dylan and I also purchased our first home in the middle of wedding planning. We were married on October 15th, 2022, at Lakeview Weddings in Camp Point, and it was the perfect day. We couldn’t have had such a perfect day without our family, friends, and awesome vendors!

Ceremony: Lakeview Weddings

Reception: One Event Venue

Photography: Amber Rhea Photography

Florist: Ruthie Bea’s

Hair: Salon 96, Kylee Churchill

Makeup: Olivia Lynn

DJ/Entertainment: Pizzazz Entertainment

Cake and Desserts: Blue Umbrella Bakery