Our story began on the very first day of freshman year at USC, when we met at a dorm carnival during move-in. What started as an instant friendship grew naturally over the next few years, even as life pulled us in different directions. At the start of junior year, we found our way back to each other at a sorority and fraternity event, and from that moment on, everything felt different. We quickly became inseparable and officially started dating December 2019, just two weeks before Caitlin left for six months abroad in Paris. Our relationship grew across an eight-hour time difference, powered by FaceTime calls and a lot of coordinating schedules. When Caitlin’s time abroad was cut short in 2020, we were reunited sooner than expected and spent that summer traveling between Laguna Beach and Santa Barbara, getting to spend time with each other’s families along the way! We returned to USC for our senior year, living just down the street from each other with our closest friends and making the most of a uniquely memorable time of online school. After graduating, we both began our careers working remotely for Harbor Freight Tools, which gave us the opportunity to continue building our life together. A few years later, ready for a change of scenery, we traded Southern California sunshine for a winter in Bend, Oregon, embracing the outdoors and a new adventure. While we loved our time in the mountains, the beach and being close to friends and family called us home. We settled in Santa Barbara, where we found a charming home just a short walk from the ocean, and have spent the past few years traveling, celebrating, and creating memories with the people we love most. At the end of one beautiful summer day in Montecito, Austin proposed, followed by a surprise celebration with our closest friends and family. It was everything we could have dreamed of and more. We feel so lucky to begin this next chapter and cannot wait to celebrate with all of you!