Congratulations to Stefanie and Jake on their marriage! When our online backup service was founded, we didn’t think that our company would ever be involved in a love connection, but here we are! This isn’t the first time we’ve been “involved” in a wedding, but this story is pretty special.
Jake and Stefanie were married on Saturday, and Backblaze has been intertwined with them throughout their entire relationship. Jake shared their story with us after he won a Mighty Morphin’ Backblaze Mug just a few days ago. How have we been a part of their love story? Let’s start at the beginning…
Jake and Stefanie met in college on a private IRC blind date (a standard love story beginning), but what was not so standard was one of their first dates. Stefanie could be categorized as a “storage enthusiast,” and on one of the first dates, she and Jake went to the local University of Alaska data center and as Jake writes, spent the evening, “going to a server room at the university and playing with the first-gen Backblaze (Pod).”
Now, we don’t take credit for their entire relationship, but you can imagine that the date may not have gone as well if our Backblaze Storage Pod was boring.
Over the years, Jake and Stefanie moved across the country, from Alaska to Portland, and from Portland to Massachusetts, and wherever they went, Backblaze followed. Just last year, we published a blog post about GINA (Geographic Information Network of Alaska), and who is that in the picture? Stefanie, leaning against one of the Backblaze Pods that she helped build for GINA.
They got married this Saturday, bringing their Backblaze love connection full circle. After we sent Jake a congratulatory email on October 8th letting him know he won a Backblaze mug, he wrote back with their incredible story, saying that he was getting married soon and added this: “No matter where we go, it seems Backblaze is a part of our lives. From dates, to work, to saving all my data, and beyond! In an odd way, this mug really means a lot to me.”
We’re happy and honored to have been there with you, and we hope the mug always remains “half full” for you and Stefanie!
Congratulations once again, and have fun in Canada! We hear the poutine is fantastic!
