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April 26, 2025
Detroit, MI

Sara Leigh & Elliott Illges

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Sara Hendricks

&

Elliott Brown

Detroit

MI

April 26

2025

We're going green!

To cut back on materials, postage, and time, we're using electronic communications. Please RSVP here on our wedding website.

How We Met

Six months into a global pandemic, Sara gave her number to a cool looking dude on Bumble and said "For personal reasons, I'm quitting dating apps. If you're interested, text me and let's get a drink." A day later, they met at Atwater Brewery in Detroit for an afterwork beer. It was unseasonably cold out and the pandemic shelter outside was thin at best. When Elliott arrived, Sara was already at a table, beer in hand. "Sorry, I'm an asshole, I got my own beer." Elliott remembers a cool girl with vast experiences well beyond his own, having traveled the world, living in many different places, and worked on many different projects. Sara remembers the corderoy jacket and how easy the conversation was. He made her laugh, made her comfortable, and it instantly felt easy. They got along great but had to cut it short. Unbeknownst to Elliott, Sara had a rule for first dates - don't hang out longer than an hour and a half. And besides, she was hosting a Halloween virtual trivia for her former MBA program. Their second date was the following Sunday at Motor City Wine in Corktown, Detroit. Sara went in thinking "It's a Sunday, one drink and then come home." Little did she know they were about to spend 4 hours together, unraveling all the interesting and odd things they had in common, a couple of which are top secret. The night ended in a kiss in the parking lot. Their third date was election night. We can't say much besides they made homemade pizza and stayed up late in to the night talking, stressing, and switching between the election and Rick & Morty. They knew it was something when they went on their 4th date, a Wednesday Veteran's Day. Elliott graciously took the day off because Sara already had it off. They started the day with mimosas on the edge of Belle Isle looking over the city and eventually broke into the abandoned Piquette plant to look over the Detroit sky line. This is when they took their first photo together. The rest is history...

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For all the days along the way
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