Nearing the holiday season, Larisa was excited that her best friend Haley, (Maid of Honor), was in town from New York. They had plans to meet up on a Tuesday evening, continuing their tradition of going to The Brigantine in Del Mar for ‘Taco Tuesday’. The night before, Larisa was scrolling through her Instagram stories when she saw her friend Jeff, (Brandon’s Groomsman), post a video of his friend’s band Ottopilot practicing for their Belly Up show the next day. The band was playing their original song “I Like the Sound of That”, which Larisa immediately took to and very quickly picked up the song’s lyrics and melody. :) Being semi-familiar with the band through mutual friends, having a new fave song, and Haley being a fellow music lover, the two decided to check out the show after dinner. Arriving towards the end of the show, Larisa was excited that she had made it just in time to see Ottopilot play “I Like the Sound of That”. Dancing and singing along, Larisa found herself drawn to the lead singer, Brandon. Besides being very handsome, his voice and performance ability resonated with her, and sparked her interest. During the band’s last break of the night, Larisa and Haley were standing at the bar when they noticed Brandon walk by, to which Larisa quickly & confidently said to Haley, “You live across the country, I get flirting dibs”. (They still laugh about this to this day, considering Larisa didn’t even have a plan for approaching him.) As the show came to a close and the crowd started to clear, Larisa spotted Jeff, so she and Haley went over to say hello. Shortly after, he was approached by Brandon’s father Erik, and after politely making an introduction, the group exited the venue chatting along the way. Larisa and Haley then met Erik’s wife Janette, who swiftly bonded with the girls and invited them to walk up to Saddlebar together. Larisa came to learn later that while Janette was talking up a single Brandon to Larisa, his dad Erik was simultaneously texting Brandon telling him there was a cool girl he should come meet. Capitalizing on an opportunity, Brandon came to Saddlebar and approached the group, sitting on the stool next to Larisa. After some serious encouraging from Janette, Larisa, apparently unable to come up with a better intro, tapped Brandon on the shoulder and said, “You guys did a great job at the show tonight.” (Super original right? Ha.) Well, it must’ve been more effective than she thought, because Brandon leaned into getting to know her without hesitation. The whole group decided to make their way to Jimmy O’s for a final night cap. Haley being the amazing wing woman she is, remembered that Tuesday nights at Jimmy O’s happened to be karaoke night, and she made a point to mention that. In true BFF form, Haley then continued to share with Brandon that Larisa was also a “good singer”, and boosted her to sing a verse of “Santa Baby”. Slightly nervous, Larisa did so, and she will always remember the sense of relief and pride she had feeling Brandon’s captivated reaction. Enjoying a beverage served by bartender and mutual friend Erik (the Officiant), and a few conversations and karaoke songs later, Larisa and Brandon shared their first kiss outside of the (oh-so-romantic) bar, and thus their love story began.