This story begins with a classic trope: meeting a stranger at a bar. It was an evening in early December of 2017. Bridgette and her friend Elaina arrived at The Victorian for a night out in Santa Monica with Elaina’s then boyfriend and a group of his buddies. The bar was packed, as bars in LA usually are on a Saturday night. Lost in a sea of people, Bridgette found herself staring off into the crowd in front of her. When her vision came back into focus, it was no longer a crowd that she was staring into, it was the eyes of a cute boy who seemingly appeared out of nowhere and captured her gaze. If you ask Jonny his perspective, he’d tell you that he went to say hi to a few friends that he did not expect to see at the bar that night, but he got distracted by a light shining down on a girl from across the bar. Although he was not the type to typically approach random girls at bars, he felt compelled to go introduce himself to this one. After talking for a few minutes, they realized that they grew up in the same area (Oak Park & Westlake), though they had never knowingly crossed paths before. And a few moments after that, their friends approached, “oh, you two met! That’s great.” Yes, they were there with the same group of people, unbeknownst to them. No longer strangers at a bar. And the rest is history! Just kidding. After that night, they would go on to lose touch for 6 months until Bridgette slid into Jonny’s DMs, responding to a story of him with his sister, Kelli’s kitten. From there, they would go on a date every couple months and then lose touch every couple of months. They were not very good at keeping in touch apparently. In October of 2018, the Woolsey fire made a path of destruction through the Conejo Valley. Jonny texted Bridgette to make sure that she and her family were okay. There’s nothing like a natural disaster to help take stock of one’s priorities. After that, it became clear to Bridgette that Jonny was a keeper. They enjoyed years of walking back and forth to each other’s Studio City apartments. Cooked many amazing meals. Attended many friends' weddings. Gone on a handful of memorable trips. Adopted Raja, their Husky-Cattle Dog. And on Christmas Day of 2022, Jonny popped the question.

Special thanks to Keith and Margo Garb, without whom this event would not be possible! <3