We met in December 2019 when Blaise was "home for the holidays" from the US Navy. Elizabeth's cousin, Arthur, was also in town for the same reason. As usual, Elizabeth and Arthur spent much of his infrequent time in Buffalo together. The cousins were best friends since childhood, however, Elizabeth had never met one of Arthurs closest friends, Blaise. The Bride and Groom's paths did not cross until Arthur and Blaise gathered a large group of friends for a fun night out in Buffalo to celebrate both of their homecomings. Running late from a Bills game party, Elizabeth and her friend unintentionally caused the entire party to wait in a hotel room to leave. While everyone was waiting, Arthur told Blaise, and only Blaise, "I can't wait for you to meet my cousin." Upon arrival, in an attempt to make light of the situation, Elizabeth exclaimed, "The fun has arrived!" Reportedly, that was it for Blaise. All night, Blaise and Elizabeth exchanged intimate eye contact but didn't talk very much. One might have thought that Elizabeth going home early would be the end of it. However, the following morning, Arthur, Blaise, Elizabeth, and Slade ended up out at brunch. Blaise picked up the breakfast tab, and Elizabeth quietly asked her cousin if that was normal. Arthur's response, of course, was nope. The following night, Blaise and Elizabeth found themselves together again. The pair became inseparable during Blaise's last week home- even on Christmas night, when Blaise and his cousin, Luke, showed up at Arthur's house with a bottle of Grey Goose with magnets on it reading "Merry Christmas Liz and Artie!" On his last night in Buffalo, Elizabeth helped Blaise pack for his departure to Washington State. Blaise told Elizabeth he would like to continue talking and for her to come visit, while she snuck a letter into his suitcase. In the words of Elizabeth's Aunt MaryBeth, "it's like a Hallmark Christmas Lovestory." Life's been a dream since!