If we were to tell you our full story, then we’d be here all day. Not only because we’ve been together for four years, but because if you know anything about Carmen, there’s always something on the calendar — we’ve packed a lot into the last four years! Therefore, we’ll share a “quick” synopsis of the events that have led us to where we are today. We met in the summer of 2021 in Arlington, VA when we were 23 and each very focused on building our careers and spending time with friends. Neither of us were expecting to meet the person we would spend the rest of our lives with this early into our post-graduate lives. Our first date was a Friday night in July. We’d been trying to get a date on the calendar for over a month and just had too many conflicts between Carmen’s travel schedule and Michael’s work schedule. Just before we decided to put a pin in it (and potentially miss each other completely), Carmen’s weekend plans changed at the last minute and she miraculously had a free Friday night. (!!!) Michael planned a date at his favorite bar at the time, the Board Room. However, no board games were played as we completely hit it off, chatted all night, and proceeded to gallivant around Clarendon, VA for the rest of the evening while talking about everything under the sun. By the time our night out ended, it was 2:30 AM and Michael realized he needed to be up in 3 hours for an early morning tee-time (shocker). Michael walked Carmen home that evening to cap off the night — and we knew we had something special. By the end of the summer, after a flurry of dates, we made it official on August 18th (the same date we would get engaged on 3 years later). From the beginning, we had the right combination of understanding each other’s work commitments while always making time for each other. Whether it was early-morning coffee walks or late-evening wine nights (we’re talking 10 PM dinners after Michael logged off), we always prioritized spending quality time together, even when we had to get creative with how to squeeze it in. As time went on, we began to meet each other’s family and friends, the most important people in our lives. This made our bond even stronger as we got to see how incredible each other’s favorite people were and see how much the other person was loved. And now, we get to celebrate our marriage with all of you! We moved in together in June 2023 in Courthouse. A special shoutout to our parents who spent the entire first day with us assembling Ikea furniture. Together, we began to build our home. We’ve shared some incredible memories together over the last few years. Some of our favorites: - 2021: Cheering on the Hokies at a football game and basketball game with Michael’s family and friends - 2022: Road tripping from Portland, OR to Crater Lake to Napa Valley - 2023: Visiting Charlottesville, VA three times in one year! - 2024: Training for and running the Virginia Beach Marathon together - 2024: Visiting Carmen’s parents in Stuttgart, Germany for Oktoberfest and Christmas - 2024: Attending a Manchester United game (Michael’s favorite team) at Old Trafford We can’t wait to keep exploring the world and experiencing life together. We’ve been eagerly planning our wedding and are so excited to share this special day with all of you. It will be a night to remember and one of the finest chapters in our story this far. Four years down, and a lifetime of love and laughter to go!