Andy and Christina first met at the start of their freshman year in 2008 at Denison University in Granville, OH. Chris noticed Andy while they were canvassing for Barack Obama. Andy later recognized Chris when they both ended up in “Introduction to International Politics” the following spring. She thought he was good looking and talked too much. He thought she was out of his league and was generally terrified by her weapons-grade intensity. Thus began seven years of not telling each other how they really felt. But sometimes it’s the smallest gestures that leave the biggest impression. During the fall of their sophomore year, Andy ran into Chris while they were promoting their respective student groups at the Student Activities Fair on the academic quad. Andy was blown away when that California girl with the huge smile ran up to him and said “Hey, I really like your sign” and then gave him a hug. Having spent high school in single-sex education, while often holding the minority opinion, this turn of events was wonderfully bewildering for him on many levels. Quite simply, no one like Chris had ever noticed him before, let alone affirmed him because of what he believed. However, the timing never quite worked at Denison. One of them was always either dating someone else, or focusing on other parts of their life. Still, they became closer during their junior and senior years when Andy joined the Denison Moot Court team, which just so happened to be captained by one Christina Bazak.

Even then, the missed signals and opportunities mounted. Chris asked Andy to come to her spring formal with her. He assumed that they were going as friends, and ended up briefly dating her roommate. While they both interned in the same U.S. Senate office in Washington D.C. the following summer, Andy invited Chris to see “Against Me!” at the Black Cat with him, but she decided to be responsible and study for the LSAT instead (the roommate thing didn’t really help either). But when things were hard, they were there for each other. Spring nights were spent sitting on the wall near senior housing listening to each other’s problems. They loved each other enough to place the other person’s well-being ahead of whatever feelings they had for each other. Following graduation, they ended up on opposite ends of the country: Chris started law school at Loyola Marymount University back home in Los Angeles, and Andy moved to Boston to begin his community organizing career with the Episocpal Service Corps. The transition was not particularly easy for either of them, and for a few years they lost touch. Four years later, Chris, now serving as a juvenile public defender in Fresno, and Andy, now running legislative advocacy for 350 Massachusetts reconnected. Messages turned into phone calls, and phone calls turned into FaceTime chats that didn’t end until one of them fell asleep or a phone died. Chris flew out for the Fourth of July and Andy was so nervous for it to go well. He planned their weekend with a spreadsheet. From the moment he picked her up at Logan Airport everything clicked. It took them more than an hour to brave 8 miles of Boston tunnel traffic back to his house (after her inaugural visit to Dunkin Donuts), but it didn’t matter. To this day, he has never enjoyed a traffic jam more in his life.

They spent a year alternating visits every six weeks before Chris took a leap of faith: she moved to Boston and passed the Massachusetts Bar (yes, she is licensed to practice law in two states). But even though they worked as a couple, living in Boston was hard. She hated her job as a civil litigator. She missed representing kids. She missed home and her friends. She missed Disneyland. Even though the idea of another year apart was painful for Andy, the idea of asking Chris to struggle through a living situation that was eroding her happiness was much worse. He encouraged her to move back home with the promise that he would soon follow. She soon found a job as a children’s attorney with Children’s Law Center of California, Los Angeles, and he applied to law schools in Los Angeles, gaining admission to UCLA. One week long trip across the country later, they arrived at their new apartment in Los Angeles in July 2019. Little did Chris know that Andy still had one more planning spreadsheet up his sleeve. Since February, Andy had been planning to propose to Chris with the help of some of her close friends. Since Chris’ favorite holiday is Halloween, Andy and her friends planned a Disneyland trip in September, a few days after their Halloween decorations had gone up. Thinking that Andy was bogged down with school work back home, Chris arrived with her friends at the giant Mickey Mouse Pumpkin on Main Street, only to be surprised by Andy, who promptly proposed. Through all they have been through, one thing has remained true: they both love and support each other, and are constantly working as a team. They could not be more grateful for their family and friends, and cannot wait to finally call each other husband and wife!