Our brides' story begins in October of 2018. Sarah was living in St. Louis, Missouri and Brianna (Bri to her friends and family...which is all of you) in Reno, Nevada. The two met on Tumblr (remember Tumblr?!) when Sarah was beginning to come to terms with her gender identity. When a gender reveal for a coworker's grandchild set Sarah off (and this was even before gender reveals were causing forest fires), she posted her ire on Tumblr, which Brianna subsequently reblogged in agreement. Seeing her post was gaining some traction, Sarah looked into Brianna's Tumblr - and seeing she was transgender herself, decided to reach out. Sarah, very green to her authentic self, messaged Brianna, asking at least 1,000,000 questions about transitioning, and from there, Brianna and Sarah were messaging every day. After about a week, Sarah asked Brianna out. And BRIANNA TURNED HER DOWN! But she wanted to stay friends. Sarah had just turned 30 and didn't want to push away any potential ally in her transition, so they agreed to remain friendly. A week later, Sarah was coming home from seeing Halloween, and locking her doors and windows because of the movie's scary plot. Brianna called, changing her tune, and in the wee hours of October 19, 2018 asked Sarah out. The two began dating then and there. This wasn't your normal relationship - a lot of phone calls, messages and video dates. But something magical was starting to happen.

It took another six months but these two finally met in April 2019 when Bri flew to St. Louis to see Sarah. The two spent a magical week together as Bri saw St. Louis for the first time and Sarah saw her city through new eyes. They were both so afraid there wouldn't be the same attraction online, but soon learned their love was as deep as it felt virtually. Nothing is a better example of this then their visit to the Gateway Arch where Sarah was holding Bri's hand during the trip up because the "clicks" (if you know you know) were bothering her, which led to a moment of commiseration with the other couple riding up with them. And it wasn't just them who noticed: all of Sarah's friends who met Bri saw (and told) them how happy they looked together as a couple. But the week had to end, and Sarah had to put Bri back on a plane, which began a bittersweet tradition of dropping the other off at the airport and crying as soon as the driver pulled away from departures. It was clear that this wasn't going to be a one time thing.

After one visit, Sarah knew she had to see Brianna again and casual talk about the future revealed things Brianna wanted before marriage, which included meeting her family. So it was Sarah's turn to fly out to Reno for Brianna's birthday and she had a little surprise up her sleeve...but so did Brianna and the two proposed to each other on December 7, 2019. From here, Sarah and Brianna's love only continued to grow as Sarah switched jobs, finally started hormone replacement therapy and changed her name. As for Bri? She met Sarah's parents, underwent her two gender confirmation surgeries...during the COVID-19 pandemic no less, and started her first job, making "bri-rritos" for the hungry denizens of Reno. All while continuing to GM our tabletop gaming sessions (Dungeons and Dragons but Blades in the Dark as of late). The two closed the gap, moving in together January 2, 2022 following a cross-country road trip from Reno to St. Louis in the middle of an Omicron surge, winter weather and semi trucks with no concept of lane distance! After actively acclimating to her new city, Bri is happily assisting people as a receptionist at Massage Envy and is quite busy in her downtime, whether that means taking care of their two cats, Leia and Tilly or cooking Sarah a meal that ISN'T Taco Bell. Meanwhile, Sarah continues her work as a legal assistant, and in her off time enjoys practicing yoga, learning to read tarot cards, supporting the local drag scene she grew up in and continues advocating for the transgender and gender expansive community of St. Louis with her work through the Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG). The two enjoy Friday night date nights together, including LOTS of Sailor Moon or Dimension 20, and the simple pleasure of just being able to wake up next to each other every day. Sarah and Brianna's story is about love beyond distance, about dedication, and they're so happy to share thieir love and this day of celebrating it with you!