We're doing this thing!

Set the scene: Winter Break, 2017. TGI Fridays, Monroeville, PA. We first met during winter break from college. I (Jess) was working at my old high school job, and Brandon was hanging out with his hometown friends. All night, his friends had been nudging him to go talk to “the pretty girl at the front." Ironically enough, Brandon recognized me through mutual friends at Kent State, giving him both courage and conversation points. When Brandon finally came over, we instantly hit it off. The only problem? I was supposed to be working, and as the line started to form out the door, I reluctantly had to get back to it. We were both so flustered and caught up in conversation that Brandon never told me his name, and by the time I realized I had forgotten to ask, he was gone. For the rest of my shift, I tried to figure out who the cute boy with glasses was and how he knew me. Fast forward a few months… It was the end of the spring semester when our paths crossed again. My girlfriends and I decided to go to a friend’s party. As we giggled our way up the stairs, I suddenly heard someone yell, “TGI Fridays girl!” And there he was, the sweet, funny boy with glasses and an unforgettable smile. We ended up talking the entire night. By the time Brandon finally asked me out on a date, the party had mostly cleared out around us. And the rest, as they say, is history.

From that night on, we have been best friends and inseparable ever since. Our lives just clicked. Our friends hit it off right away, we became part of each other’s families, and we fell in love completely and without hesitation. Growing up and figuring out adulthood is tricky, but doing it together made us stronger. We moved back home in May 2022, got engaged in July 2024, bought our house in April 2025, and welcomed our pup Scout in May 2025. We were just two lucky kids who found each other and somehow built an amazing, beautiful life together.