We are getting married!

We met on a Monday night in June 2018 over dinner at China Chilcano in Washington DC. We hit it off so well we closed down the restaurant and by then, it was too late to go out for ice cream. Our next date was a hike in Carderock with Murfy followed by a Thai dinner and this time, ice cream was had, as was our first kiss. Dennis learned the quickest way to Alex's heart was through her stomach when he cooked her the infamous lemon chicken at their next date. Although we had only been on four dates, the chicken became known as "engagement chicken" among Alex's friends since she never stopped talking about it. Only a week later, Dennis was diagnosed with cancer. Our fifth date ended with Alex bringing Dennis to the emergency room with Pat and Simon. Throughout Dennis's treatment, Alex never left Dennis. We were inseparable, despite the difficulties. Eight months later, Dennis received a life-saving transplant from his brother David. By June 2019, Dennis was well enough to celebrate our first anniversary and we went to dinner in DC. In the fall, we moved in together and continued building our relationship in a more "normal" setting - going on dates and continuing to get to know each other. We were also acclimating our dogs to sharing a space. Murfy really wanted to be Ziggy's friend, but she needed a bit more time to warm up to him. In August 2020, we decided to set down some roots in Maryland and purchased our first home in Silver Spring - we were sold immediately by the spacious backyard.

After cooking countless stir fry dinners together while dancing to Rodriguez, we planned our proposal which resulted in a trip in September 2021 to Oregon. We traveled around Oregon, but the highlight of the trip was the proposal at Winter Falls where the couple shared a special private moment and Dennis gave Alex the ring and she said YES!