We met in perhaps the most romantic setting possible - a conference room in Houston in November of 2019 for our summer internship welcome weekend. Then, we did not see each other for a year and a half - our summer internship was virtual due to COVID, we each completed college, and Cole moved to Texas (Dallas) and Carolina moved from Austin to Houston to start "adulthood." For about a year we were really good friends - work would take us to the same city, we went on ski trips with friends, hung out at the pool together, went to corporate-funded dinners just the two of us (Carolina always paid with her corporate card). At a certain point, Cole developed what one might call a crush on Carolina and, in a healthy manner, he pushed those feelings down given that Carolina had many times said "I will not date someone I work with." Our friendship grew and we started texting every day and eventually we decided to go out to dinner again. It was the night before a friend's going-away party in Dallas, Carolina drove up from Houston to go out to dinner with Cole. Cole did not realize it was a date until Carolina let him pay for dinner at the end (to be clear Cole wanted it to be a date, but he was nervous and oblivious). That is when we say we started dating, though technically it was 3 months later, right before going to his first University of Texas game Cole asked Carolina "so what are you introducing me to your parents as? Your friend who drives 4 hours to see you? Your co-worker? Your boyfriend?" It was on the second try that the answer was boyfriend. Over the past 3.5 years we have lived a 4 hour drive (Houston to Dallas), a half a world (Sierra Leone to Dallas), and a 5 minute minute drive away. Throughout all of it, a few things have been consistent - Cole has (allegedly) driven his car too slow, Carolina has never been on time, and we have grown both as individuals and together. We've traveled together across the country and world just the two of us and with our friends and family - whether meeting up in Paris or Cancun; constantly traveling around Texas; going on ski trips; exploring California, Hawaii, New Orleans, Chicago, New York, and of course the great city of Las Vegas (Carolina's favorite city due to the architecture). At the end of the day, and we are relatively sure this is a good sign - we really just like spending time together eating a lot of Thai food, going on dates, listening to (according to everyone and Spotify) really bad music, watching TV shows and movies (well Cole watching and Carolina falling asleep within 5-10 minutes), and perpetually prolonging our collective journey of learning how to cook. On the surface, we have a whole lot of differences: Cole is Jewish, over 6 feet tall, grew up in California, spent 10 formative years at summer camp. Carolina is Christian, over 5 feet tall, grew up in Texas, never went to summer camp. However, perhaps the most important part of our relationship is that we have grown in what is similar - a shared importance of accountability, of hard work, of balancing a good time with a taking time to recharge, of family, of community, and of faith. This is what we are looking forward to celebrate with all of you on January 2nd 2027. As we begin this next chapter of our lives together, we are not just creating a new life and family together, but we are bring together the people who made us who we are, our families. So to our siblings (Jackson, Bryce, and Ellie) thank you for dealing with us, our parents (Rocky, Janet, Leon, and Judy) thank you for raising and always supporting us, and to our grandparents (Shirley Bloomfield, Phil & Babs Mallory) and our late grandparents (Harry and Eva David, Coleman Bloomfield, Drs. Joe and Lee Mountain, and Sharon Mallory) thank you for creating the legacy that we will strive every day to uphold. We could not be more excited to become husband and wife, and are so blessed to be able to celebrate with all of you. 1/2/2027 - get excited.