‘Photo by Jody Isaackson Matthew O’Neal and Sammy Jo Kack are planning to wed on Aug. 25 at Heritage Event Center, rural Taunton. Their philosophy is to talk out disagreements before they become problems.

MARSHALL — Keeping the romance of a relationship alive while thinking practically about the day-to-day business of marriage should make for a rosy future for a Marshall couple.

Sammy Jo Kack and Matthew O’Neal met on the online dating site called Tender in February 2017, they said. They text messaged and FaceTimed for two weeks before meeting in person.

“We talked almost every day,” Kack said. “Usually twice a day.”

Kack and O’Neal got engaged on Dec. 23 at the family Christmas celebration they held at their own home in Marshall with her family in attendance. They are in the process of planning their Aug. 25 wedding.

While dating, the couple found it easy to be in each other’s company and that they enjoy many of the same pastimes, like going to the gym to work out, traveling, country music and cooking.

“We’re ‘foodies,'” Kack said. “From the first time we met, we were extremely comfortable together.”

“My parents loved her from the start,” O’Neal said. “We’re really excited about being engaged.”

The proposal was television-inspired.

“I had been planning the proposal for a while as I didn’t feel I had enough money,” Matthew said. “And, I wanted to have the right ring.”

He said he and Kack hosted her family for Christmas on Dec. 23 and he purposely went last. He first gave her a present that included a lot of trivial things. Then he pulled a single rose from his jacket as well as the ring, the large square style with the main diamond bordered by smaller diamonds.

“I proposed just like on ‘The Bachelor’ (TV show), presenting the rose, saying ‘I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you accept this rose?’ “ O’Neal said. “It worked.”

“My sister video-recorded it,” Kack said.

Her whole family knew about it, he said. He had talked to her parents beforehand.

Her parents, Scott and Vicki Kack of Marshall, advised him that finances could prove problematic.

“Her father said to ‘be mindful of our finances because money can be the root of all disruption in relationships,’ “ O’Neal said. “After that, they said they loved me and welcomed me into the family.”

Also prior to the proposal, O’Neal said he had texted a picture of the ring to his parents, Henry and Rochelle O’Neal of Chicago, who were also delighted at the news.

O’Neal and Kack have also come up with their own advice: Knowing you have found the right one makes you work harder at working out any disagreements, is this couple’s philosophy. When they do come across a topic they disagree on it, their philosophy is simple: Talk it out before it gets to be an argument.

Kack and O’Neal have just started working on wedding plans, and have already booked the venue. The wedding, reception and dance will be held at Heritage Event Center, rural Taunton.

They have selected the colors of navy, blush pink and ivory to work with as they go about searching for the right wedding attire.

There will be five adult attendants and one child on each side, the couple said.

Kack has asked her sister, Nikki Petersen of Porter, to be her matron of honor and Nikki’s daughter Addison Petersen, 6, to be the flower girl.

Friends who will be bridesmaids are Amanda Besse of Marshall, Courtney Kleinhuizen of Montevideo, Lexi Anderson of Marshall and Laura Morin of Marshall.

O’Neal’s best man will be Tom Maher of Chicago. His groomsmen will be Myron Jackson of Chicago, Josh LeClere of Marshall, Gunner Rodgers of Venice, Florida and Michael Poniatowski of Venice, Florida.

Kack’s 3-year-old son Cameron Fier, will be the ring bearer.

The couple plan to take a Caribbean Cruise to the Bahamas for their honeymoon. They had both traveled outside the United States before, but neither had been to the Bahamas.

“It’ll be nice to see other places,” Kack said.

O’Neal had graduated with a business administration degree from the University of Illinois, in Champagne, and had been working for a marketing company that was based in Chicago when they opened an extension office in Minneapolis to which he transferred.

The couple met for the face-to-face for the first time in Minneapolis.

“I didn’t like that job at all, so I was looking for a reason to quit,” he said. “Then I met Sammy, and she’s my reason.”

O’Neal found a job as a collections analyst at U.S. Bank in Marshall and moved to Marshall to be with Kack. He is also a lifeguard and building supervisor at the Marshall YMCA and has served 4 1/2 years in the U.S. Navy.

Kack had grown up in Minneota and went on to obtain a nursing degree from Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Pipestone. She works in the quality department at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center.

With the upcoming nuptials, the couple is pleased with the results of their online dating experiences. Kack said she would definitely recommend it ot others.