Hannah's Version: I met Alan in the fall of our junior year of college at a Stranger Things themed house party (very 2017). I was hanging with some friends in the backyard and scanning my surroundings when I spotted him up on the deck, drinking a beer in a red jacket with thick black frames. Eventually he made his way down to the backyard and asked me to hold his beer for a second. He overheard me saying to a friend that I was studying journalism, so he cut in to say “I am too!” I immediately perked up and directed my attention to the guy in the red jacket and thick black frames. Eventually we found ourselves sitting in the grass, talking about our shared love for journalism, travel, and languages. It wasn’t until rain started falling on us that we realized everyone had cleared out of the backyard. We hurried back indoors. As I was leaving, he asked to connect on LinkedIn (professionalism comes first, of course) and then got my number. I knew that night I wanted him to be my boyfriend. A week went by before we went on our first date, and this was when things started to take a turn. We were nervous, awkward, and miscommunicated a lot. We stopped talking for a few months before we ran into each other at another party (non-Stranger Things themed). We awkwardly chatted until a mutual friend broke the tension. We laughed it off and began talking like two good friends. This continued for a week with different hangouts as friends, until Alan asked me to get drinks, just the two of us. We drank a few rounds of beers and got to know each other better. Two weeks later he was my boyfriend, and a month later I knew I wanted to marry him. Seven years later and I’m lucky to say I’m still mesmerized by the guy in the red jacket and thick black frames. Alan's Version: Hannah and I met in 2017. We were in the backyard of a college party, and struck a conversation when we both realized we liked languages and journalism. (Surprisingly, we’d never had a class together before!) A fun night led to a first date: A coffee at Lamplighter on VCU’s campus, and a meal at Panera. The date… didn’t go so well, and we ended up not talking afterwards. But fast forward a few months, and we rekindled at another party… We’ve been best friends ever since! In the seven years we’ve been together, Hannah and I supported each other as we’ve seen our journalism careers grow. We’ve traveled to places like Colombia, England, and (my personal favorite) Turkey. We’ve moved from Richmond, to New York, and back to Virginia. And it brings me so much joy to know that the last seven years are but a fraction of the time we’ll ultimately spend together. Hannah has given me so many fond memories, and she gives me so much to look forward to. It’s been an awesome journey so far, and I’m so excited to make the commitment to continue our lives together. I’m so glad you’ll be there to witness it, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you!