In front of his whole preschool class, three-year-old Matt Grodsky stepped up and said that he would one day marry Laura Scheel, a classmate. That was nearly 20 years ago.

When the two, who are both now 23 years old, first met, Grodsky was drawn to Scheel. They first met in a preschool in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Grodsky remembered, “I don’t remember the first time Ilow her around, but I’d always try to impress her by quoting phrases from ‘The Lion King’ and such.

Play dates and movie outings are some of Grodsky and Scheel’s first memories of one other. (obviously with parent chaperones for the two little lovebirds).

Scheel shared Grodsky’s infatuation, as did the latter.

He said, and he did as he said, “When you like someone, you just kind of stand up and say it.”

He told his 3- and 4-year-old friends that he loved Scheel, and they all laughed. What was Grodsky’s reply? Just be patient.

In the end, there was a lot of waiting. The young couple attended different elementary schools and eventually fell out of contact, only keeping tabs on each other’s development through the yearly Christmas cards that the two families exchanged.

Then, in the fall of their first year of high school, Scheel noticed Grodsky’s name while browsing through a friend’s phone—again, at two different schools. It turned out that Scheel’s buddy had attended middle school with Grodsky, and she offered to reunite them when she learned that they had been quite the couple in preschool.

I was a high school freshman, so I responded, “I don’t think so!” cited Scheel. But afterwards, she ended up texting him my number, and we have been getting along ever since.

Scheel and Grodsky started dating a couple of weeks afterwards. After four years and a total of 15 school dances (all of their high school dances combined), it was time for college, this time at two different schools in two different states.

We were somewhat reluctant right after high school graduation. Do we remain together? we wondered. Do we make an effort to make it work? Scheel clarified.

They succeeded in making it function. Despite being more than 1,600 miles apart, Grodsky attended Columbia College Chicago while Scheel attended Northern Arizona University. Although it wasn’t simple, they eventually developed a system freshman year, creating a schedule for when they would visit one other and watching “Friends” on Netflix together while they were separated.

Grodsky popped the question before they graduated college. On May 23, 2015, as the couple was getting ready to start their final year, he took her back to their preschool, where it all started.

Two months prior to this day, Grodsky had purchased an engagement ring and had previously gotten her father’s approval. In order to be in the ideal spot to take a picture of the occasion, he had even stationed his brother at the school before they arrived.

Grodsky kept checking his pockets for the ring on the way there. He dropped down on one knee and awaited them there.

“Oh my gosh, is this really happening?” I said. cited Scheel. “When I first saw the ring, I thought, “This is wonderful. I’m overjoyed about it.

The answer is unmistakably yes! Grodsky’s brother then presented the newly engaged couple with a private picnic in order to celebrate, using the exact same picnic basket that Grodsky’s father had used to pop the question to his mother.

They exchanged vows on December 30, 2016, the day they met in preschool.

The best way to express it was how Grodsky’s uncle, who performed the marriage ceremony, phrased it: “For most preschoolers, it’s about finding your snacks and your sleeping mats, but for them it was about finding your soulmates.”