The party starts here.

Like most modern love stories, ours started online. We were both lazily swiping through Bumble around New Years (Alli was a touch hungover) when we matched! Alli thought, "Oo, another match for my collection" and didn't have any intention of sending a message. Brian had other ideas and extended the match for another 24 hours just before it was set to expire (online dating is weird). Upon seeing this, Alli decided to send a message just to see what this Brian guy was all about, who seemed to be interested. So she sent a killer opening line about garlic bread and a week later they were eating garlic bread on their first date.

It started out as a casual date night - a Saturday at our favorite Indian food place in town (The Oven) before going to Blair the next day, so Alli could meet Brian's parents for the first time. We enjoyed food, wine, and the presence of a service dog that sat quietly under a neighboring table (Alli mostly just paid attention to the dog). Brian drove Alli home afterward, and as he parked his car in her apartment's parking lot, she suddenly turned to him and said, "I think I love you...I'm pretty sure I love you". And from that point on, like became love.

A year after the killer garlic bread opening, we were set to celebrate our first anniversary in February 2020. Brian planned the evening and said that he wanted to do some of the things that we did when we first started dating. He planned a walk through the Sunken Gardens, dinner at Vincenzo's followed by drinks at Starlight Lounge. As soon as we pulled up to the gardens, Alli had a sneaking suspicion that something was up, because there was a photographer hiding in the bushes but not photographing anyone. It all seemed a little sus, especially in the dead of winter. After our normal walk around the gardens, we came to the top which was wet with snow and ice. Brian asked Alli to look out over the gardens because he wanted to get a photo of her. When she turned around Brian was on one knee with a ring in a box. Alli's first thought was, "Oo no, your knee is getting wet" and her second was, "Yes!" We then went to dinner where Brian had a small gathering of family and friends waiting for us.