We met and had our first date in February of 2022. Our first date was at a Richmond restaurant called Cobra Cabana (chosen because they had outdoor seating, COVID really changed the dating world!). As Lucy walked home she found a stray cat and sent a picture to Elliot. We bonded over a shared love of animals. To this day, we will interrupt each other to point out a cute animal we see. We also share many other interests including traveling, crafting, and reality TV (Bravo has a death grip on our TV). Together we have traveled to Illinois, Florida, the Mothman Museum in West Virginia, and the Outer Banks. Our very first trip together was the Outer Banks and so many things went wrong. Elliot was sick and overheated and Lucy cut open her hand on an oyster shell (but don’t worry, the doctor did Google whether she could get any weird diseases from that). That trip showed us that we wanted to be together and take care of one another even when things didn’t go our way. Together we have shared milestones including birthdays, holidays, Lucy’s promotions, and Elliot’s law school graduation and bar exam passing. After years of Elliot studying legal rules, we decided to ignore the traditional rules for weddings. Instead, our goal for our upcoming nuptials is to celebrate our love in a way that minimizes stress (no Bridezillas here) and focuses on joy. The first way we’re bucking tradition is dividing the legal paperwork and the public celebrations into separate events. This is because we are eager for the legal rights and protections of marriage but want time to plan the celebrations (yes, Elliot is crocheting the place mats for the celebrations and can only work so fast). The legal paperwork was completed in a private ceremony on November 1, 2024. The second way we’re bucking tradition is by having two separate celebrations. While most of our friends are in Richmond, VA, most of our family is in Illinois. Thus, rather than asking everyone to travel, we’re going to have a Richmond “friend wedding” in 2025 and an Illinois “family wedding” in 2026.