For our first three years of working together, Bryan was just a coworker with weird eating habits and horrible taste in football teams. But one evening we were both working late and started talking about how we each stayed up all night whenever we had a paper due in college. It had never occurred to either of us to start earlier...which is the same reason we were both at work after hours that night. Thank God. We became really close after that. We had inside jokes about everything from the giant spider on the staircase at work to the Sour Patch Kids commercials. But eventually we started talking about life, love, family, God, and our futures. Those conversations were what made me realize I was falling in love. We went on our first date on a rainy day in 2016. Bryan took me to the downtown public library because I mentioned I hadn't seen it yet. He got lost and gave me the passcode to his phone so I could get directions...we both laughed hysterically that he had just given me access to his phone on our first date. After the library, Bryan gave me two options for movie times. I picked the later one and he smiled, "I want more time with you, too." About halfway through the movie we held hands for the first time. When the movie ended, we sat still holding hands, taking it in until everyone had left and the fluorescent lights turned on for the cleaning crew. I can't speak for Bryan, but I had never felt anything like that in my life. This man was my future husband. Honestly, the rest is history. I've been falling deeper and deeper since that day. Our love has fulfilled countless dreams and goals for me...some I knew about before Bryan, and some I had never imagined possible before him. As Bryan frequently says, "We have everything we need. The rest is all bonus."

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough." – The Notebook We watched The Notebook together one Valentine’s Day and it was my first time watching the movie. Not even minutes into the movie, I hear that quote and the waterworks start already. There are two reasons that moment will always stand out to me. One, it’s an example of how vulnerable Christina enables me to be. Two, and more importantly, it’s a reminder of how lucky I am to have found someone with whom everything with them is enough, and anything else is just bonus. I honestly don’t even know how to begin telling our story. The made-for-TV-special version is Jim and Pam from The Office. What started as late nights catching up on work turned into conversations, which turned into trivia games and walks to break up the day. I looked forward to seeing her at work each day and dreaded when it was time to leave. Through all of it, I learned that Christina’s heart is the only thing bigger than her smile. I’d like to be able to say that there was a single moment when I knew Christina was the one. But in reality, there were a lot of little moments. These were typically when I was leaving work after hours of conversation, trying to figure out what had just happened, why I was so smitten, and why it was so easy to open up to this girl. Eventually, on one of those drives home, it hit me…I was falling in love with a girl I thought didn't exist. I knew I had no choice but to see if we really had something once-in-a-lifetime special. Now, a few years and many memories later, I am lucky enough to be marrying her.