Our story began 2 years before we knew it. In the summer of 2020 when Bill was living in Columbus, one of his best friends Michael came down for a visit; tagging along was his new girlfriend, Stephanie. Despite Bill being in a relationship at the time, Steph insisted during their first conversation that he needed to meet her sister Melissa. After returning home the next day, Steph was filling Melissa in on the weekend and brought up Bill; she made sure to disclose that he was a Disney-loving magician but "wasn't weird," and had a feeling he would be perfect for her. Fastforward to Michael and Stephanie's wedding in September 2022. Melissa was Steph's Maid of Honor, and Bill was one of Michael's groomsmen. After a full day of focus on her sister's special day, Melissa hit the dance floor. It was near the end of the night, and Bill had only briefly interacted with her on the party bus earlier that day, so he figured this was the right time to introduce himself. After all, they had been hearing about each other on and off through the duration of Michael and Steph's relationship. He was hooked from the first dance; something about her felt like "home." After the reception, Bill and Melissa (accompanied by friends) made their way to Cleveland's Barley House, closed it down, and had their first date the following weekend. For 6 months they would alternate weekends traveling back and forth from Columbus to Cleveland (Melissa lived in Hinckley at the time) until stars aligned and Bill got promoted to take over the Cleveland location for his company. Later that same year they bought a house in Bath, OH together. In July of 2024, Bill proposed at their favorite local restaurant with a bottled note he had given Melissa 8 months prior with the instructions to not open. She said yes! And it wasn't an illusion; it was real magic.