Aidan and Zak met at work in 2019, shortly after Aidan started her new gig for the company. The first thing Zak ever said to Aidan was, “Hey, I like your tattoos”…and that was that, the rest is history! Just kidding, it wouldn’t be fun to cut the story THAT short :) The truth is, a friendship blossomed from their initial “hallway conversation” together. Zak taught Aidan how to make lattes on the fancy office equipment, and she quickly became smitten with his patience, kindness, wittiness, and ability to teach. She found herself seeking him out in crowds and trying to convince herself that it was normal to have butterflies anytime her handsome - ahem, FRIEND - was in her vicinity. And every time Aidan joined Zak at his apartment to bake cookies, escaped work for a moment with him on the office balcony, or claimed that she still didn’t understand the fancy coffee maker and needed more help steaming the milk *just right*, Zak found that his days got increasingly brighter. When he saw her interact with his newborn nephew while his family was visiting Chicago that first summer, he could see the kindness, love, and laughter with which Aidan effortlessly filled a room. In short time, the excuses to spend time together piled up on both ends and the bubbly feelings became more and more difficult to deny. Friendship became love, and love became an undeniable “let’s build our future”…Zak proposed in a lush, secluded garden on the island of Maui in Spring 2023, and Aidan scream-cried “YES”.