May 27th, 2023 - How They Met Andrew and his roommate Jon attend their friend Marie's wedding, but they accidentally show up 45 minutes early. While they're waiting around and trying to convince the bartender to serve them champagne, the wedding photographer walks by and casually snaps a photo of them. Jon, who has the personality of a golden retriever, says hello, which then gives Andrew the opportunity to notice that this girl looks familiar. They all chat briefly and establish the connection that they all used to go to the same church, which is also how they all know the bride. The photographer wanders off, and then according to Jon, Andrew made a comment about her being pretty. The wedding photographer is, of course, Mary Claire. Several hours later during the reception, Andrew approaches Mary Claire again and mentions having possibly seen her on a dating app recently, and asks if she'd like to go out sometime. Impressed by his initiative, Mary Claire says yes, and they exchange phone numbers. June 8th, 2023 - The First Date Andrew and Mary Claire meet for dinner at Ginya Izakaya, Andrew's favorite ramen and sushi spot. As they chat, they discover they have much more overlap in their lives than either of them expected - Andrew grew up in Rome and started his college journey at Berry College, which is where Mary Claire attended college. They live 10 minutes apart in the same area of town, and in addition to having formally attend the same church, they had both ended up at the same new church. Some of Mary Claire's college friends had become Andrew's work friends, and so on. The first date is a success, and then several more weeks and dates later, they're practically inseparable. August 31th, 2024 - The Proposal Andrew reached out to the owner of the yoga studio that Mary Claire teaches at on Saturdays to ask if he can get into the studio early before she teaches that day. He recruits close friends to set up flowers, blankets, and candles in the beautiful studio. When Mary Claire arrives for class, Andrew is there waiting! He immediately informs her that he got her classes covered for that day so not to worry;) He pops the question, she says yes, and it's everything they both hoped it would be. Afterward they have a party at the the coffee shop below the studio where family and friends come to celebrate with us. Such a special day!