It was a cool summer evening on the grounds of Brown University. Stuart and Adriana had just officially begun their journey as fellows of the 2016 Venture for America class (a two-year fellowship program for recent college grads interested in entrepreneurship and startups). A peer had discovered that there was a "strawberry moon" (we still don't know what that means) and had organized a group to walk over to the waterfront to check it out. A down-to-earth and conversational guy, Stuart decided to "startup" a conversation with Adriana, who was also making her way over to see the fruity moon. "What's your story?" was the first question on the table - a probing inquiry that surprised Adriana and made a great first impression. Stumped on what to say, she responded with a fun fact - her ability to position and hold a boom microphone. They talked about hobbies, family, and faith backgrounds (which came up in conversation since Stuart was wearing a purple YoungLife shirt). Over the course of the five weeks training for the fellowship at Brown, Stuart and Adriana became good friends - attending the local church, enjoying a good meal at Cheesecake Factory and coordinating a day-trip to Boston with fellows for the Fourth of July. At the end of the training, Stuart and Adriana went their separate ways - he to Cleveland, she to San Antonio. But, the story didn't end there!

After reconnecting at a VFA event in January 2018, Stuart and Adriana kept their conversations going in true millennial fashion: texts, gifs, and Bitmojis. As time went on, phone and FaceTime calls entered the picture. In April, Stuart bravely put it on the table that he was interested in visiting Adriana in San Antonio for a weekend, and the two coordinated for a date in June. When the weekend arrived, Adriana couldn't seem to shake the butterflies in her stomach. It became evident shortly thereafter that the butterfly was actually a stomach bug that reacted quite violently to salmon and Brussels sprouts. The first weekend together would be spent with Adriana getting IV fluids at an urgent care clinic and at home nursing some cucumber lime Gatorade and rice crackers. Despite all that, it was safe to say that there was something special between Adriana and Stuart, and they decided to give a long-distance relationship a try. Adriana had always said that in waiting for "the one," she was willing to play the long game - she didn't realize that God would take her phrasing literally. For a year and three months, the two visited one another every four to five weeks, alternating between Cleveland and San Antonio. They explored their respective cities, met each other's friends and families, and ate more Cheesecake Factory together. Stuart and Adriana realized that a decision had to be made about their future together and agreed that it was necessary to be in the same place. In October of 2019, Stuart (the braver of the two, as you can see by now) packed his bags and drove to San Antonio. A new chapter would begin - dating in-person full-time.

It's now two years out from when Adriana and Stuart began their relationship. In the midst of a particularly busy week, the pair didn't have the chance to celebrate their anniversary as they would have liked and made a plan to have a more intentional two-year celebration a few days later at Mission San Juan, one of their favorite spots. Adriana thought that they were just going for a picnic, but Stuart had another idea in his back pocket (wink). He guided Adriana to different spots around the mission where they had previously taken pictures or shared a special moment. At each location, he surprised her with a photo and a "conversation prompt." Thinking that it was just a sweet gift for their two-year anniversary, Adriana had no idea of what would come next. At the final location at the mission, Stuart pulled out the last photo and prompt. It was a picture of him on one knee, a pose that was then recreated as he pulled out the ring to propose to Adriana. They both blacked out, but to this day, they're pretty sure she said yes. Now their new story begins!