Both drawn to Denver by a sense of community, Ari and Hannah arrived in the city just a year apart—Ari in 2011, and Hannah in 2012. From late-night laughter to the quiet, unspoken ways they lifted each other up, their friendship grew into something undeniable. Two emerging adults, drawn to Denver for community, ended up finding something even greater—each other. Ari an Hannah first met working at a Panera Bread on 12th and Grant in the Summer of 2012. Ari vividly remembers the day: he was in the back washing dishes, while Hannah sat at a computer learning the ropes of her new job. It didn’t take long for a friendship to blossom as the rest of that year was filled with small but meaningful moments—a hand-drawn card just to make Hannah laugh, playful pranks in the walk-in freezer, the cathartic smashing of dishes on the dumpster out back to help Hannah through a rough day—Their subtly flirtatious friendship inevitably grew in to something more. On July 4, 2013 Ari asked Hannah to be his girlfriend. Their wedding day will mark 12 years and one day since that moment. They were definitely just kids when they met, but the connection was real, and as they grew and changed, they were both thankful to fall deeper in love with the people they were each becoming.