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South Bend, Indiana, USA. The kitchen of some dilapidated, off-campus, college house. A party. The time was 11:30 PM, 30 minutes until Nikki's 20th birthday... She (a driven finance major from Manila, Philippines) and Chris (an undecided klutz from Princeton, New Jersey) began talking about two mutual friends, a girl and a guy. Nikki's friend group, which includes the girl, and Chris' friend group, which includes the guy, were trying to play Cupid with this pair. For Nikki, Chris was a source of information - did his friend like her friend? For Chris, matchmaking was a gift: an easy topic of discussion... without it, there was no way he could sustain conversation with a girl like Nikki. Unfortunately for Chris, however, the clock struck Midnight, ringing in Nikki's 21st year and ending this fateful first meeting.

Despite the matchmaking having failed, Nikki and Chris' friend groups grew close, which prompted further interactions between these two college sophomores. In early December, they met once more at a party. Another one of those rundown, off-campus houses. Might have been the same one. The prior Spring, Chris' residence hall at the University of Notre Dame had won "hall of the year," granting him and his dormmates a formal dance under Notre Dame's famed golden dome. Nikki, whose dorm had won "hall of the year" one year prior, reminisced about her own "dome dance." Sensing her wistfulness, Chris steeled himself to do something he had never before done... he asked a girl to a dance. Nikki said "yes." But, unbeknownst to Chris, Nikki had not attended her own dome dance the year before... she and her friends had been unable to go. So, although Nikki had said "yes" to Chris, her motivations were unclear. Was she there for him? Or the golden dome?

A semester had passed. Nikki and Chris were friends, their respective groups now spending most weekends together. During the semester, Chris made every attempt to show Nikki why "friends" wasn't enough. He made every attempt to show her why they should be more than friends... Well, not verbally, of course. Telling her how he felt? That would be absurd. Instead, he was going to kill her with kindness - walk her home, text her encouragement through tough exams, and chauffeur her around South Bend. Did it work? ...Sort of, but he needed to make a great final impression before the semester's end. A final impression that he would ultimately have a chance to deliver when Nikki forgot to turn in her dorm room keys on moving-out day. Nikki was meant to turn in her room keys before departing for the South Bend airport, en route to the Philippines for the summer. Instead, she took the keys with her to the airport. Nikki texted Chris her conundrum, and Chris leaped at the opportunity, driving to the airport to fetch the keys from Nikki prior to her flight. Chris ultimately turned in Nikki's keys for her and, in the end, when Nikki's plane took off, cruising over the corn fields of Northern Indiana, it was her that was left wondering if she and Chris should be more than just friends.

Nikki and Chris returned to college for their junior year on the verge of a relationship. A night out during the first week of classes sealed the deal. Chris asked Nikki on a date as they stargazed from a college quad, Chris feigning knowledge of astronomy to impress his new lady friend. However, with one milestone reached, a new challenge faced the nascent couple - they managed to start a relationship, but could they maintain one? Well, it was a prank staged on Chris by Nikki's friends that proved fortuitous towards their success. As Chris nervously prepared for his first date, Nikki's friends texted him that she would be wearing a formal dress for the occasion. This did not surprise Chris, as Nikki is a notorious over-dresser. He had no choice but to match her style... Chris put on a suit. Little did Chris know, Nikki never planned to wear anything more formal than shorts and a tank top. When Chris arrived in his suit to pick Nikki up, he was forced to take a casually-dressed Nikki on their first date. It was mortifying, yet it was also invigorating. Whenever the conversation tapered off, whenever he didn't know what to say - Chris could fall back on self-deprecation. He could make fun of himself in the suit and he could get a laugh out of Nikki. Embarrassing himself would become a cornerstone of their relationship. A relationship that would be successfully maintained... until their senior year.

In the Fall of their senior year, Chris received a momentous phone call. He had been offered a job following graduation. He had finally secured employment, just as Nikki had a few months prior. For Chris, the news was exciting and relieving... a weight off his shoulders. However, that night, when he and Nikki went out to celebrate Chris' achievement, the conversation was far from joyful. Instead, it was tense, distant. You see, Chris' job offer was in Chicago, 700 miles from where Nikki had already accepted a position as an investment banking analyst in New York. 700 miles and for an undefined period of time, they would be separated. That is, if they should choose to stay together... They ultimately decided to try long-distance. However, as they bid farewell, following graduation in the Spring of 2015, the camaraderie that they had forged over the past three years was waning...

Things hit a breaking point in the Spring following graduation. Nikki's one-year visa to stay in America, post-college, was set to expire. Her only hope of avoiding deportation was a lottery for a long-term US worker's visa. A lottery with a 30% success rate, at most. When Nikki applied for the lottery, her and Chris were still doing long-distance. Chris in Chicago. Nikki in New York. They had made it work, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. Now, with the end of Nikki's time in America seemingly approaching, they were preparing to say goodbye. Nikki was gearing to move to Singapore. Chris to stay in Chicago. Then, Nikki received the results of the lottery... She had won! She had been offered the long-term visa. She could stay. Chris, rejuvenated by the news, stepped up his search to find a new job in New York. That Fall, he found one, and Chris moved from Chicago to join Nikki in The Big Apple, ending their year-and-a-half of long distance. For the first time, Nikki and Chris' relationship had a future. For the first time in a long time, despite living in the "city that never sleeps," Nikki and Chris could rest easy.

For more than four years, Nikki and Chris had been living in the same city. Naturally, there were both ups and downs. Yet, their relationship was methodically trending towards a ring. By early-2021, the question was no longer about "if?" and "when?" It was about "how?" And "how?" was a difficult question for Chris to answer, for every one of his attempts to surprise Nikki - whether it be a birthday party or a Christmas gift - had failed. She had sniffed them out with a keen and discerning eye, and she was quick to remind Chris of this. So, with the ring purchased, he called in the reserves... He asked his closest high-school friends - one of whom was getting married and the remainder of whom, including Chris, were members of this friend's groom party - to help him stage a fake engagement party. The fabricated details were: 1) the "engagement party" would be for the high-school friend that was getting married; 2) it would take place at this friend's "beach house," on the New Jersey shoreline about 30 miles from New York; and, 3) Nikki would need to travel to the "engagement party" on her own, using the ferry from New York, because Chris had "groomsman duties" that day in New Jersey. In reality, Chris had rented a beach house, along the waterfront, where he and a close friend from college, a videographer, would be waiting for Nikki to arrive. Nikki didn't arrive to the rented house until 5:30 PM local time. She showed up in a taxi, furious that Chris had "forgotten" to pick her up from the ferry terminal. However, as soon as she saw him on one knee, Nikki realized: Chris had finally surprised her. And, with the sun setting over the bay, exactly 2,750 days after she had agreed to be his girlfriend, Nikki said "yes" again. So, from one waterfront to another, from "yes" to "I do," we invite you to join us for the conclusion of a courtship and for the beginning of our next journey on January 6, 2023 in Boracay, Philippines.