Our story began in August 2017, when Danny was home on summer break from UC Santa Cruz, and Emily was busy working as a server and going to school locally. Thanks to our esteemed friend, John Bonus—who convinced Emily to join a dating app— we were soon matched (Danny swiped right first). After working through some nerves and excitement, we decided to meet at a local Temecula coffee shop for our first date. Emily found Danny easy to talk to, cute, and respectful. Danny appreciated that Emily laughed at his dumb jokes, and was smitten by the incredulous looks she would shoot him. For the next few hours, we bonded over our musical tastes, shared hobbies, and our similar upbringings. Our connection was instant like oatmeal. Over the coming days and weeks, continued to see one another. Shortly after, we discovered we lived just around the corner from each other, which made it easy to spend as much time together as possible before summer ended. As the end of summer loomed, we had an undeniable connection, but our future felt uncertain. When September rolled around, Danny was back at school 9 hours away. We weren’t sure how the distance would affect our relationship, but we couldn’t help staying in constant contact—texting between classes, studying over video calls, and wondering when we’d see each other next. By October, after Danny came home for his birthday weekend, we knew we wanted to make it official. Before long, we had fallen in love (the distance didn’t stand a chance). We met each other’s families, took our first trip together to Seattle, and alternated between traveling to see one another. In 2019, we were overjoyed to move into our first apartment together. However, just a few months later, Danny accepted a job in Washington D.C., and we were again long-distance (this time 2,600 miles apart instead of 400). In 2021, Emily graduated from Cal State San Marcos and Danny convinced her (and Baxter) to move with him to the East Coast, where we’ve been since. Almost eight years since our first coffee date – two new fur babies (hi Rey and Theo), many new cherished friendships, and one new home later – we have decided to tie the knot! With joy, you are invited to join us in celebrating our union where it all began, in Temecula, California.