The first time Mr. Squirrel met my dad, my dad casually asked him how we met. We awkwardly looked at each other and mumbled…”at a bar-type place.” My dad thought we were embarrassed to have met at a bar, so to make us feel better, he replied. “There’s no shame meeting in a bar. I mean…it’s better than having met online.” I could have melted in my seat. You see, bees…
We met online.
Whew.
I mean “technically” we physically met at a bar for the first time, but if we are going to keep it real…we met online. To be fair, this doesn’t bother Mr. Squirrel at all. All his friends and family know. I am the one who likes to keep this fun fact on the DL.
Like I mentioned early on, I had moved to a new city for graduate school and everyone else in my tiny program was also from out of state. Honestly, I was just hoping to meet some people to hang out with so I could get to know the city better.
Mr. Squirrel on the other hand had grown up in Little Rock. He had lots of great friends and knew all the local hangouts. His problem was that most of his friends were already married. Mr. Squirrel was often the third, fifth, or seventh wheel. When he went out with his friends, it was hard to meet people and Mr. Squirrel was ready to find someone.
TA-DA…and so the Squirrel romance began. 
Not that I’m keeping track or anything, but I am the one who first initiated a conversation online. (He swears he saw my profile and planned to message me that weekend…sure babe.) Anyway, about a week of witty banter ensued where we discussed proper guacamole-making technique and the wonder that is Pixar. Honestly, one of the best things about this awkward beginning is that we have documentation of our first conversations together, and it is really neat to go back and reread them.
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Halloween a few months after meeting—I was the UP House, he was Popeye.
Mr. Squirrel asked me out on the date and it went something exactly like this: “I was thinking we should get together this weekend. Grab a bite to eat, a liquid to drink, a ball to bowl, a movie to watch. You can come up with some too!” I guess he was a little eager to hang out?
We planned for him to call me after work that Friday so we could pick a place to meet. I started to get dressed around four-ish (guess I was eager too!). Then five o’clock rolled around. Then six. And seven. Hmm. Looks like I picked a real winner…
Finally around 7:30, my phone rang. Apparently Mr. Squirrel forgot to mention that he often stayed at work much later than the traditional 5:00 PM. But I didn’t care—I was really jazzed to meet him in person after having such great conversations, so we planned to meet up at a great Mexican place downtown. After hanging up, I proceeded to pull a Laura Linney:
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Image via Sunshine of the Day / From Love Actually
I beat Mr. Squirrel to the restaurant and waited outside the front door. I distinctly remember seeing him walk up with a huge grin on his face. I awkwardly started to shake his hand, but he enveloped me a big hug. Our first words to each other:
Him: Wow, you are even more beautiful in person. [This is fo realz.]
Me: You smell really good.
And the rest is history.
Now the world knows. OK, maybe not the world, but somehow I have the feeling this is bound to get back to my father thanks to my sisters who follow my posts on Weddingbee.
Did anyone else try online dating? How did it work for you? Do you keep it quiet as well?
We met online too! SO was a little shy to his family at first, but now we are really open about it to everyone. In a big city, meeting online is a great way to get out!
I have a close friend who is getting married in the fall. They met online. My Aunt and Uncle met via dating service back in the late 80′s or early 90′s. There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. I think it’s awesome when those services work for people. If I hadn’t met my FI back in 8th grade I have a feeling I would be using an internet dating site.
I met my fiance online too! He doesn’t like to tell people thats how we met and it just turns out that we have several mutual friends so when he tells people he tells them we met through friends.. Our beginning started just like yours 
I now tell his revised story of how we met to make him feel better but people closest to me know the truth! He was the first person I talked to online the very first day and I messaged him first too
We met online too. And to this day, our parents don’t know. I didn’t want to hear it from my mom about how unsafe and unsavory it was (please) so I told her we met when he was helping a friend move into the apartment next to mine. I’m not sure his parents ever asked how we met.
aww what a sweet story. btw, love the halloween costume!
we met online almost 4 years ago (thanks okcupid) and we tell people we met through mutual friends or a bar
We met online playing World of Warcraft, not quite a dating site, and my FI LOVES to brag about it.
Super cute pics of you two!
EEEE!!!! We met online. I joke that I am the poster child for online dating because I went on exactly 1 online date, with my Boo. Then we went out the next weekend (twice) then both cancelled a couple of other dates, and that was that. 1 date, bam, done. I swear by ok cupid’s matching algorithm. However, I am also embarassed to tell people where we met so I like to say that he pulled me out of a burning building or stopped me from getting run over by a bus or some other equally dashing and totally ridiculous scenario. I don’t think anyone’s fooled but it’s more fun that way.
I also tease Boo that he’s probably secretly a serial killer because I have seen one two many Lifetime movies. Not dead yet, though, so I guess maybe I am wrong.
A good friend of mine met her now husband online. When they first met I asked her where and she gave me some bs story about meeting on the subway. I was like “NO ONE TALKS to STRANGERS on the SUBWAY!!”- she got all defensive and told me I was a mean person and that’s why I don’t talk to anyone on the subway. Meanwhile… I saw right through her veiled attempt at secrecy. I still give her crap about her lame story, lol.
We met on a dating site as well. At first he seemed a bit shy about sharing that fact, but it’s very open now. He even recently inspired a friend to try it after mentioning that it’s how we met (although I don’t know how well it’s working out for him lol).
LOL your story and mine have the same beginning!! My husband and I met online, and I was the one who first messaged him!! He gave me crap about my message to him in his first message, which lead to some light-hearted banter. We ended up conversing through the dating site we met on (OkCupid is popular, and they really do work!!) before we actually met. He came to a college age group I attended at a local church, so sometimes we just tell people we met there. Its easier to example and doesn’t get us weird looks. After our first meeting, though, it was another month and a half before we met again!! LOL I blame it on us both having full time jobs and living an hour apart. But here we are today, less than a year later, married and happy as can be. Best of luck to you and Mr. Squirrel, I think you guys are off to a great start! 
I met my FI online. I’m fine with it but he gave his family the “we met through a friend” line…even though we lived 14 hours apart, I’d never been to his state, he’d never been to mine.
I keep telling him that at the wedding, people will ask, and we either need to tell the truth or he needs to come up with a solid story.
I also my fiance through OkCupid! Shortly after we started dating, he asked me what I told people who asked how we met, which prompted me to give him a very strange look and shout, “The truth! What do you tell them?!” He was a little shy about the online part, but I’ve since told all of his friends and family, so the cat’s way out of the bag now
It’s a much more common way to meet these days, I find. I know lots of people, including my cousin, who have met their spouses via the internet. One friend met his wife through World of Warcraft, and another found his wife on the “Casual Encounters” side of a dating site! Needless to say, we were asked to keep that juicy tidbit under wraps at the wedding…
I met my FI online and shout it from the rooftops In fact, my BFF saw how lucky I got and asked me to help her with online dating….now just a short year later I’m helping her plan her wedding!
This is such a sweet story, nothing to be ashamed of girl!! The picture from Love Actually is cracking me up
LOL “You smell really good.”
That’s awesome. There is no shame in meeting someone online.
We met online, too (dating service). I remember almost everything about our first “date” (Saturday coffee), but it took awhile for the sparks to hit. We were mostly just very nervous, but we hit it off.
He told his family, but I didn’t tell mine for ages–I wanted them to know how awesome he was before they found out. Today when people I don’t know well ask, I still tell them, “We were introduced.” Since we’re both nearly 40, we have a lot of friends who aren’t quite as comfortable with online dating and I don’t want to have to explain.
Mrs. Squirrel, Tampa, FL Age and Occupation: 25, Genetic Counselor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graphic Designer/ Engineering Student Engagement Date: March 17, 2012 Wedding Date: May 2013 Venue: Davis Island Garden Club About Me: I am a DIY loving, science dork. I like to eat green peppers every day and I wish all clothes would be made with bows and lace. I moved to the South for grad school and stumbled across Mr. Squirrel, aka Southern Gent extraordinaire. We moved to Tampa, Florida and are starting a new life together. We are so excited to get married! Our ceremony will be in a Catholic church and the guests will then take a boat ride to the outdoor reception. We are channeling a Midsummer Night's Dream and plan to have lots of twinkling lights, moss, and whimsy in the air.
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