We first met at the Smith Tower, in October of 2015, during one of the first Tower Session performances, which were these special music evenings curated by Seattle artist Kris Orlowski, at the very top of the tower. Andrew was performing that evening with Kris, along with his Passenger String Quartet, performing some re-imaginings of George & Ira Gershwin music. Madison was there with her aunt Amy Adams, who was a huge supporter of local music in Seattle. Amy introduced us to one another, and we were inextricably drawn to each other from the moment we first met. When we met, we bonded over Woodford Reserve Whiskey, music interests, and talking about literary classics like: Joan Didion, Hermann Hesse, Charles Dickens, and Pablo Neruda. There was so much to talk about, and we found each other incredibly fascinating in different ways. Andrew was so spell-bond that he almost forgot that he was supposed to perform that evening.... After that first evening, we parted, and didn't know if we'd ever see each other again - we had hoped, but had no idea. We hadn't exchanged numbers or anything... Serendipitously, we saw each other again, in November 2015, at the next Tower Session performance at the Smith Tower. Madison brought her mom, and sister Bethany, and hoped that Andrew would be there, but wasn't sure if she'd see him again. As fate would have it, Kris Orlowski called Andrew last minute to have him perform that evening, and thankfully Andrew was available and excited to play.... he also secretly hoped that Madison would be there again. Once we saw one another again, we were overjoyed - and made sure to exchange numbers, so we could make plans to meet over coffee and chat more about literature, music, and each other. We both felt like we had met an ideal partner in each other...

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.” -Pablo Neruda Our first coffee meet up was at Zeitgeist Coffee in Pioneer Square. A little later on, we met up at Fiore Coffee, on Queen Anne. Andrew brought Madison a copy of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, and Madison brought Andrew copies of Joan Didion, Pablo Neruda, and The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. Madison opened Andrews ears up to the music Coldplay, Jon McLaughlin, and JoJo. Andrew opened up Madison's ears to the unknown artists she had never heard of, that he had worked with and beyond. Madison even shared her love of Jane Austin, and told Andrew that she never read the last chapter of Pride & Prejudice, because she never wanted the story to end. The more time we spent together, the more intense our bond became... we couldn't be away from each other. However, the relationship was significantly different than anything either of us had been in: we felt like we had found an ideal partner; not the fairy tale ending sort of garbage, but a real, sustainable, growing sort of love. We found ways we could balance each other out with life, work, love, and emotional support. Love is never an easy sea to navigate, but we felt like we found someone who we could both be fully transparent and natural around. Even after difficult fights and discussions, we have each other's backs and work together well in resolving any challenge we come up against. We were walking Greenlake one day, and sat down on a log next to the water. In the simplicity and encapsulation of that one moment, just talking with each other for hours... we knew that we deeply loved each other.

While Andrew was on tour in Europe with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in March of 2016, it became evidently clear that we were meant to be together for life. Every city that Andrew toured through, he would take a sharpie marker, and mark a small initial A&M in special spots, and take photos of them, and send the photos back to Madison in the states. It was Andrew's hope to use the initials as a sort of future trip plan for both of them over to Europe, where he was planning to propose to her. Images of Lisbon, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Manchester, and more came flooding back to Madison. While in Amsterdam, Andrew was walking around, and came across a local jeweler named Harry Tromp - and he saw the perfect ring for Madison: Simple, elegant, beautiful, vintage, and sapphire (Madison's birth stone.) He knew he wanted to marry Madison, and having the ring solidified that thought. He just wasn't sure when he would propose. Once Andrew was back from tour, he waited, and tried to figure out ways he could buy tickets back to Europe to hatch his elaborate proposal scheme. It proved to be a task too difficult to pull off. A couple of months later, on a cold morning at our apartment in West Seattle in November, he couldn't wait any longer, and just wanted to make Madison his wife. He ran downstairs and read the last chapter of "Pride and Prejudice" to her, and then got down on one knee in our bedroom and proposed.