Love at first
site: Jeanne Patton

Jeanne Patton (left), 24 Residence: Roland, Iowa Relationship status: partnered, with Sheri

I decided to put up a free personal ad on Cupid.com. I searched the ads of all the lesbians in Iowa within about two hours of where I lived, in a little town in the middle of the cornfields, and up popped the results. The very first girl caught my eye, so I tried out one of the little "winks." After glancing through the rest of the results, I realized the first girl was the only one I was interested in, so I winked at her again.

This went on for about three months. Then one evening, right before my eyes, there was an e-mail from her! I immediately e-mailed her back, and before you knew it we were on AOL Instant Messenger chatting up a storm. Her name was Sheri. We seemed to have so much in common. I was completely amazed.

About nine days later, Sheri drove all the way from her small town to meet me. Boy, was I scared! But when I saw her, I knew she was the one. She was beautiful and glowing.

Back at my house we sat for a couple hours on a swing in my yard and talked about everything. When the night came to an end, Sheri hugged me and pulled the "play with your keys" trick, hinting that she really did not want to leave. I leaned in and kissed her.

On March 18, 2006, Sheri and I were married in front of 75 people in a Christian church in Des Moines. We said our vows, we exchanged rings, we signed a declaration of marriage, and we sealed the commitment with a kiss. It was a beautiful day.