During the summer of 2004, future bride-to-be Jennifer Ann Behr was pleasantly satisfied with life. Her younger sister Emily had introduced her to the postmodern worship community that is the Upper Room, held at Christ Presbyterian Church, and Jen quickly became active with the volunteer teams responsible for the setup and take-down of the service's elaborate set dressings.

In the months preceding, Amy Peterson, the sister of groom-to-be Grant Charles Neil Peterson, strongly urged her older brother to immerse himself in the Upper Room, citing fantastic music as an incentive. Charlie was initially intrigued, and after visiting, felt a connection with the musicians and a similar heart and passion for the worship there. Through his friendship with guitarist and future best-man-to-be Justin Sharbono, Charlie was connected with the music team, and began serving each weekend, hauling in several hundred pounds of keyboard gear with glee.

Meanwhile, Justin and his future wife-to-be Rebecca Klinski began scheming on how they might cross the paths of their two friends. It was Rebecca who made the initial introduction of Jen to Charlie and vice versa. As both were quite social in the Upper Room scene, their evenings often intersected, although always in group contexts. There was a curiosity in each toward the other, never fully understood, and never fully realized.

That is, until December 26, 2004....

In the wake of a Christmas season filled with music and community, groups could often be found gathered around a TV screening "Napoleon Dynamite". It was this movie that prompted the Behr sisters to invite a few friends over for such a screening. When Charlie's name came up in Jen's mental Rolodex, she rang him up and invited him over. He accepted.

After the movie finished, and friends began departing, Jen and Charlie were left alone, for the first time ever. Conversation quickly deepened, and the two realized, three hours later, they had much in common, and much to talk about. This was obviously something more than just a casual friendship. As Napoleon's brother Kip might have said, "she's definitely my soul mate."

A few days later, an old bandmate of Charlie's came into town, bringing her vocal jazz stylings to the Dakota Bar & Grill on Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. When Charlie saw that Erin Bode would be performing that night, he began thinking of who might be a fun listening companion. Jen's name was the first and last on that list. He called her up. She accepted.

They met up at CPC, and braved the icy wind tunnel that is downtown Minneapolis at that time of the year. Though they didn't know it at the time, this was their first date.

Over the next weeks, Jen and Charlie fed a ravenous, intense desire to know more about the other. Many hours were spent on the couch in Jen and Emily's living room as new knowledge poured out. Over the following months, they would embark on explorations taking them to Hayward, Wisconsin (home of the Behr cabin), Chicago (U2's Vertigo tour), and Minnesota's state parks (a strike-out, after which they went to Hayward instead).

In July, Charlie went on a music missions trip to Bulgaria with a team of musicians from Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, MN. The trip was phenomenal and eye-opening, not only from a geographical and socioeconomic standpoint, but also personally, in looking ahead at where he wanted to go with Jen.

Two weeks after returning from Bulgaria, Charlie popped the question.

He and Jen had been planning to go rollerblading around Lake Harriet on this particular Saturday (July 30, 2005), and thought, since this had been the location for many talks, walks and other excursions, it would also be a good location to propose.

As Jen was a sharp girl, it was imperative that all details or hints be kept from her. Jen's parents did a masterful job of remaining mum on the issue, and Charlie had to act naturally (despite an unusually fast pulse).

Saturday finally arrived, and the plans were still in effect. Jen returned home from work, and after relaxing for a while, they took off for Lake Harriet. They found a parking spot, and took their skates across the street to a grassy area. Charie reached into his skate--presumably for his wrist guard, thought Jen--and pulled out a small box.

After beating back disbelief, Jen said "You know I will!" to Charlie's proposal. He then announced that they would not actually be rollerblading (mercifully, as it was 89º and humid), but that they had dinner reservations downtown. They headed back to Jen's place, quickly converted into more suitable attire, and jetted off in Jen's Civic. Dinner was at Zelo's on Nicollet, followed by a walk through Irvine Park, where Jen had taken Charlie on Valentine's Day.