We were doing our gay duty: celebrating Baltimore Pride. In the middle of a crowded dance floor, we found each other. Daniel made the move and asked for Brian's number. We soon had our first date at Akbar Indian Restaurant in Baltimore. Luckily for us, we shared many of the same values and could nerd out about being active with our Asian American organizations while in college. At the time, Daniel was entering his second year in the Ph.D in Neuroscience program at Johns Hopkins University and Brian was a full-time middle school humanities teacher at City Neighbors Charter. Both of us tried over the next few months to have a second date, but continually missed each other. After months of not connecting, we found ourselves reunited by art. Daniel was hosting a photography gallery show opening at a local Italian restaurant. Brian was one of the last people at Daniel's show. This was the start of seeing each other regularly. We made it official on February 19 after an awkward ceremony deleting our OkCupid profiles, cementing our relationship. The #GerardoPhamily had just begun.

After six years of adventures, Daniel proposed to Brian in Fell's Point pier, one of Brian's favorite spots in Baltimore. Under the guise of celebrating Daniel's birthday, several friends met up with us at the Owl Bar, and we toasted to the official start of the wedding countdown.