BETHESDA, MD – It’s tough being single during wedding season. As she plans her own wedding, Jessica Huey gets it. The pressure to have a wedding date is exactly what led her to meet her fiancé RJ Stieger. That, and Craigslist.
In the fall of 2013, Jessica received an invitation to an old friend’s wedding. She didn’t want to attend alone, especially since her ex-boyfriend was a groomsman.
“I’m a pretty competitive person, so I felt like I needed to show up for this wedding, and I needed to have a date, and I needed to really win the breakup,” said Jessica.
The only problem was that Jessica had just moved home from college and didn’t have any friends who could stand in as a date. So she turned to the internet and Googled “how to find a date for a wedding.”
There were tons of results, but one caught Jessica’s eye: A woman claimed she found a date on Craigslist.
“So I thought, obviously, I need to do that,” said Jessica, laughing.
In a Craigslist post titled, “Seeking devilishly-handsome, good-humored date for a wedding,” Jessica set her parameters for her perfect date. He had to be at least 6 feet tall, between 21 and 30 years old and needed to be able to roll with the punches.
“If I say, ‘You’re an astronaut,’ I need you to be able to go with that because the point here is to win the breakup, right?” said Jessica.
Responses from potential dates could also only be 25 words or less.
Jessica ended up receiving around 40 colorful answers in a week – one was even a haiku. At the time, she didn’t have a job so she could really dive in and analyze every applicant.
“I went through these and sorted out the people who didn’t follow instructions… naturally,” said Jessica. “Then I created a document I called the ‘Bachelor Dossier.’”
RJ was one of the applicants. He found Jessica’s post when fulfilling his guilty pleasure of reading Craigslist’s “missed connections” section. Even though he described himself in 25 words, he broke one of Jessica’s rules when he didn’t include a photo.
But two things struck Jessica about RJ: 1) He referenced “The Wedding Date,” a 2004 rom-com, and 2) He had a minor in ballroom dancing.
She set up a final face-to-face interview with him and two others. RJ was the first finalist Jessica met.
“I think I had been pretty clear that I wasn’t looking for anything here, but we just totally hit it off,” recalled Jessica. “I think we spent hours talking in this bar, and it was not at all what I was expecting.”
For Jessica, it was an easy choice. RJ was her perfect wedding date, but she soon realized he may be more than just a date. By the time the wedding day rolled around, Jessica and RJ had been dating for months.
With RJ by her side, there was no more need to “win” the breakup, Jessica admitted. So, she decided it would be best to get in and out of the wedding quickly before anyone could ask how they met.
But then the wedding singer didn’t show up. Jessica was asked to sing instead and had to leave RJ alone.
“I got very specific instructions to not do anything. Nothing. Just sit there and enjoy the wedding,” said RJ
A openly friendly person, RJ couldn’t help himself. He started talking with everyone nearby.
“And I can’t control it because I’m singing, so I’m watching him like talking to all these people, like, ‘What are you doing?!’” said Jessica.
Turns out, all of RJ’s new acquaintances were seated at the same table for the reception.
“They literally have inside jokes at this point,” said Jessica. “I’m like, ‘They’re going to find me out.’”
But RJ was prepared with their fake meeting story. Good thing too because the second question RJ and Jessica were asked at their table was how they met.
“I stole it from a Subaru commercial. Her car broke down on the side of the road, got a flat tire, which Jess will point out she does know how to change a flat tire,” said RJ.
With RJ’s smooth save, the two got through the wedding – and even had some fun.
Photos: RJ & Jessica
Five years later, RJ and Jessica live together, are proud cat parents and are planning their own wedding.
“Does anybody think they’re going to meet the person they’re going to marry on Craigslist? You think you’re going to find a couch that will serve you two months, maybe,” said Jessica.
“You’re getting a used couch on Craigslist?” RJ responded.
“I’m never getting a used couch on Craigslist. Maybe a dining room table,” said Jessica.
A dining room table… and a husband.
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