Fab Couples: Wisconsin

Brandon & Kristina McConnell

Brandon McConnell, corporate executive of marketing, Delavan Lake Lawn Management (Lake Lawn Resort, Delavan Lake Resort, The Harbor Club at Lake Lawn); Kristina McConnell, regional director of sales, Aimbridge Hospitality

Homebase: Delavan Lake, WI

How did your love story begin? Kristina: We were working at the same resort together. After working there for about a year, I was promoted and my new office was right next to his. One night I worked up the courage to ask him out to dinner, and he said yes! After that dinner we were pretty much inseparable. Fun fact: Before we really knew each other, Brandon almost fired me!

Favorite thing about one another: Brandon: Honestly, it is her as a mother. What attracted me most to Kristina early on was how much genuine love she had in her heart for the world around her. That only grew 100-fold following the birth of our first son. The admiration I have to this day for what she went through during that entire process both during an extremely difficult pregnancy and post-birth remain unparalleled. She continues to be driven, heartfelt and sincere while being a great role model to the boys.

Kristina: This is an easy one. My favorite thing about Brandon is how amazing of a father he is. Our kids count the minutes until he gets home from work and when he walks in the door, they scream with joy! He is patient with them, and he always says yes to reading a book, no matter how busy he is.

Favorite date night: Brandon: We admittedly have been pretty bad at this recently given our respective schedules, really anything when we get to do it is always fun. This past year we went to numerous association and charity dinners, sporting events, concerts…yet it’s always the rare getaway to our favorite Italian restaurant in Lake Geneva that is the most memorable.

Kristina: Dates nights look different since having kids! Pre-kids, I would say my favorite date nights were actually “date-weekends.” He would surprise me with weekends away almost every other weekend! Since having kids, my favorite date nights are ordering in and watching movies together after the boys go to bed.

Favorite tradition you have as a couple: We know it sounds cliché but simply spending time with our boys. Rory will be 5 this year and Beau will be turning 2, and they are our entire world. With both of us on the move and traveling for work, the ability to turn on music, light candles at dinner and simply allow everyone to wind down and talk about the day is one of those opportunities that we always try to ensure we do. For the few moments we do get to break away, eating junk food and watching movies, it can’t be beat.

What does your happily ever after look like? Brandon: Hopefully more time together to experience life! We both have a love of experiential travel and would like to continue our passion of exploring fun destinations with great food and unique history around the globe while enriching our own understanding for the world around us.

Kristina: Volunteering my time has always been one of my passions in life. I’d like for us to spend some more of our free time, together, volunteering at local animal shelters or various other organizations in our area. Of course, I also see a lot of traveling in our future as well. My hope for us it that we never stop exploring and having fun!