While we know a Friday wedding isn't ideal for traveling in, especially in September with school back in session, we chose September 20 to get married because September 20, 2021 was when we went on our first date, meeting in person for the first time!

We matched on the dating app, Bumble. Julia sent Brandon a GIF of a Minion and Brandon didn't respond within the 24 hour window, so Julia extended the time for Brandon hoping she'd get a response. Finally, Brandon asked her what her favorite How I Met Your Mother Episode was because she had mentioned it was one of her favorite shows in her profile and they began chatting...

Our first date was a lunch date on September 20, 2021, which was a Monday. Turns out the restaurant we had planned to meet at was closed. Brandon realized this five minutes before they were supposed to meet, which resulted in Brandon calling Julia on the phone for the very first time. We ended up meeting at The Roost (because apparently that's one of the only restaurants open on a Monday in Longmont?). By the end of the date Julia wasn't sure if Brandon liked her at all because they said goodbye with a "side hug".

Our second date was on Thursday September 23 and was very impromptu. By this point, we had been texting a lot, but hadn't made a solid plan to meet for a second date yet. Julia had coworkers in town and was going to meet them for dinner that night and Brandon had been complaining about work when Julia suggested that he needed a drink, clearly implying that she would like him to ask her to join him for happy hour. Brandon, who is no dummy, picked up the hint, and we ended up meeting at Jefe's and enjoying a few house margaritas (doubles of course) and each other's company and the street tacos, which will be featured at the wedding!

Our third date was the next day, Friday September 24. In Frederick during the summer that year they were doing "Finale Fridays and Farmers Markets" in downtown and that week was Oktoberfest themed. If you know Julia...she loves Oktoberfest beer and she decided that it was her turn to ask Brandon out, and she didn't want to wait long to see him again. They met in downtown Frederick after work and enjoyed great weather and good beer and music and ran into some neighbors that they both happened to know. After a while, they went with them to go get food at a local pizza place where a future murderer was our server (message us for details on this). This date was the beginning of the discovery of all the crossover of our pasts and we were pretty much inseparable after this point.

Through all of our dates and conversations, we have discovered so many times we were in the same place and could have met. We still to this day find events that we have EACH attended before knowing each other. Some examples are: -We lived across the street from each other for four years. -We do recall saying "hi" to each other one day while Brandon was walking Luna and Julia was in her front yard. This only stands out to each of us though because there was a hot air balloon floating so low that we were talking with the people in the basket. -We both worked for Baker Hughes in different divisions. -Julia worked fully remote, but Brandon's office is where Julia would go for IT support... which was about 20 feet from Brandon's desk. -We both went to the same Browns vs. Broncos game. -We both went to the same Paramore concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. -We have been to Not So Silent Night on alternating years. -One of Brandon's roommates worked at Shoes and Brews, a brewery/running store that Julia's brother-in-law co-owns. -We both had gone to 9-Round Kickboxing for workouts.

Brandon knew he wanted a ring as beautiful, unique, and special as Julia. And Brandon loves to design and make things. So a customed designed ring it was! Brandon met with four or five different jewelers before he found one that was willing to make the ring he wanted. The others either said no, it can't be done, would try to make it something different, or would be way over budget. Stephanie at Saint K Jewelry specializes in custom jewelry and made Brandon's design work, and offered some suggestions, like the moissanite. The petals of the flowers are purple, Julia's favorite color. But they are specifically amethyst, the birthstone for February, which is when Julia's sister/best friend has her birthday. The center of the flowers are aquamarine, the birthstone of March, when both Brandon and Julia have their birthday. Two aquamarine stones, one to represent each of them, Neither Brandon or Julia are fans of diamonds as they just don't find them practical. So the center stone is moissanite. Moissanite is only found on meteorites, so it is essentially a space rock. Which, as nerds, we love. It is also almost as hard as a diamond, with a bit more 'colorful' light refraction. Inside the ring is an engraving that says "I think I like you". This is in reference to their song, I Think I Like You by The Band Camino.

November 7, 2023 was a seemingly normal Tuesday night. Brandon came home from work and made dinner. We ate while streaming something. Then Brandon asked if Julia wanted to do something, like play a game. Julia said 'sure what do you want to play?' Brandon said he didn't know and walked to the board game room to browse. Julia named off a few games and Brandon said 'no I'm not in the mood for that right now. Brandon then named a few but decided no on them. Then Brandon suggested that we play Codenames Duet so we could practice in case we played Julia's brother and sister again over the holidays. So Brandon got the box and took it to the dinning table. Brandon starts setting it up and handed Julia the rulebook to clarify a few rules Brandon said he couldn't remember for sure (and to distract Julia while Brandon set up the special cards). Brandon laid all the cards out (with the custom side facedown). We play the first game, but end up losing it on the fourth-ish turn because Brandon guessed the assassin. We discuss our thought process on the clues and Brandon asked Julia to flip the cards so we can play again. What Julia did not know was that Brandon had made a custom set of Codenames cards consisting of all wedding related words, like bride, groom, cake, life, dress, etc. So Julia started flipping and noticed the cards were all of the same theme and kept looking at Brandon. Brandon asks Julia if she wanted to go first. At this point Julia is bright red and confused. She looks at the card and realizes it only has 4 clues instead of the 9 it should have. And she sees the clues are for the words "will ewe marry may". Julia is very hesitant and looking at Brandon, slightly confused, slightly smiling. Brandon goes around the table and got down on one knee and said "I love you, J. You're my favorite person and my best friend. Will you always be my gaming partner?" Julia said yes and kissed Brandon.