We first met in 2010 during a high school swimming welcome event. The freshman girls were plucked from their homes early in the morning by the senior girls, given silly dress up clothes to wear, and tasked with cooking breakfast for the senior boy captains. CJ had Liza cut a blueberry in half and feed it to him, and the moment was even captured by a fellow teammate (check out the gallery!) We had just one year of overlap before CJ went off to college, and despite his few attempts to reconnect in the years after, it was not until the summer of 2023 that we finally made it happen... While living in Chicago, CJ decided to reach out to Liza, through Instagram, to try and connect when he would be visiting NYC. After rescheduling his flight, and sleeping at the airport overnight due to a tornado in Chicago, the two met in NYC for dinner and drinks at Flex Mussels and Keys & Heels on the UES. 8 hours later, and after closing out the night with some ice cream, the two of us felt something pretty special. CJ changed his flight, again, and we met on Sunday at Chelsea Piers for golf and drinks. At the end of the weekend, we knew that we would see each other soon. Despite the distance between us, we figured it out. We spent weekends in Chicago, NYC, Philly, and upstate New York. We tried new restaurants, saw John Mayer, watched the Mets, and ventured to different neighborhoods in our home cities. Finally, in February 2024, Liza decided it was time to move home to Chicago. From there, our relationship continued to grow. In November 2024, Liza planned a weekend getaway to Saugatuck, Michigan, with CJ, his brother Grant and Grant's soon-to-be-wife Taylor. Little did Liza know, CJ was planning a proposal. At the end of a fun weekend, and after a short hike to the Lake Michigan beachfront, CJ got the best birthday gift that he could ask for - a confident "yes" from Liza. We cannot wait to celebrate our wedding with you and to welcome you to Chicago in July 2026!