We are together today because a friend stood us up and turned a casual beer into an accidental first date. After both being just a little late for our chemistry Ph.D. program orientation at Florida State University, Wes sat next to Sydney because he thought she was cute. This led to chatting, and maybe a little flirting. We met for lunch with a third friend of ours and agreed to meet for a beer later, and when this friend got tied up in lab, this group beer outing transformed into just the two of us finding out we had a lot in common and could talk for hours. You could say the hypothesis was proven fact, together we have a lot of chemistry.

Wes proposed to Sydney at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with their entire family in town to celebrate, however Sydney was not aware any of this was going to happen. Sydney was under the impression her sister Olivia was in town for some sister fun and couldn’t understand why she randomly wanted to go exploring the zoo in the middle of February as opposed to anything inside. As big sisters tend to do, Sydney did not immediately listen, but after a spirited conversation, she decided to finally, begrudgingly comply with her unconventional sister. As they approached the arch at the zoo, Sydney saw Wes standing with the skyline in the background and it all clicked. Sydney walked up to Wes and he proposed with no one in ear shot, so the world will never know the sweet and private words he used to ask the big question. But right after that, Sydney called her mom on FaceTime to tell her the big news and when showing her the ring, her mom said, “I want to see it now!” And then finally revealed that both families were hidden right around the corner. Champagne was popped and the party hasn’t stopped since.