October 28th, 2017...Lauren and her friends were gearing up to host a pre-game at their house in Manayunk, PA before taking on the town for Halloweekend. Fresh off a shift at work she rushed home to a house filled with their friends among them, Paul. He was new to their circle as her roommate, met him while working at Vanguard following their undergrad graduation. All she knew about him was that he was tall, worked in finance, and had a sarcastic sense of humor like her - how perfect! Dressed as a biker chick, Lauren met Paul for the first time. He was dressed in his most natural "costume", his very own fire suit pulled from the archives of his days racing sprint cars. Lauren would admit upon first introductions she didn't remember what his face looked like. It was as if she blacked out in the moment from excitement. Paul on the other hand kept it cool and thought she was cute. Her brown hair and bright blue eyes were a "perfect combo" in his opinion. They went on to spend the rest of the evening together and continued seeing one another for the next 6 months. Around that 6 month mark, things changed as she planned to move home to NY and he focused on other priorities leaving him to end it with her - how rude! On the plus side, they managed to remain very close friends and stayed in touch in the years following, doing their best to support one another in all their endeavors including; new relationships, new jobs and new cities... Fast forward to Labor Day 2020, Lauren was down the shore visiting family and just enjoying some R&R. Little did she expect to receive a call from Paul late that night after he had been out celebrating his birthday. In that moment, she heard he was once again on the market - YAY. In an attempt to remain calm, she felt sorry that it happened but of course remained hopeful for herself. A few weeks later, Paul invited Lauren down to his new home, Dallas, TX to visit for a weekend. She had never bought a plane ticket so fast! After a whirlwind weekend of best friends reconnecting, not only did the city of Dallas steal Lauren's heart, but Paul did too. They continued visiting each other on random weekends when flights were extra cheap (thank you Covid) but also for other milestones like birthdays and holidays. She brought friends to experience Dallas with her and continued to fall in love with the city, leading her to find a new job and make the official move in June of 2022! In the years since, Lauren and Paul have truly created a life for themselves in the south. They adopted their first fur baby, Tootsie, kicked off summer 2023 by getting engaged and closed it out by buying a house! They are at present doing as much as possible to make their house a home, all while planning their upcoming wedding. We can't wait to celebrate the continuation of our love story with you all in 2026!