We met in Mr. Zerby’s English class during sophomore year of high school, where the seating chart dictated that Lisa sat behind James. Her feet didn’t quite reach the ground, so she spent most of class swinging them—and kicking the book basket under James’s desk. Allegedly, this was accidental. After several “Stop thats” and “Seriously, again?” moments, James gave up and started bribing her with gum to keep her occupied. It wasn’t 100% successful, but it did help. What began as a daily truce over a stick of gum eventually turned into an actual friendship. We’ve come a long way since then, though Lisa still denies doing any of it on purpose.

The year after we met, James left Conant, and Lisa quickly noticed his absence. Naturally, in the age of MySpace, she took it upon herself to track him down. One message turned into more, which turned into texting, which eventually turned into hanging out—often involving listening to CDs on repeat in the car outside James’s house. Over the next 10 years, our friendship grew as life took us to different colleges and states. James eventually moved back to Chicago from Michigan, while Lisa lived in the city. One day, she asked him to catch up, and this time, the timing was finally right. It took a while to get here, but some things are worth the wait.

From the start, our friendship-turned-relationship has always been quiet—just something between the two of us. We live and grow together in our little bubble in Santa Cruz, California. When it came to getting married, a private ceremony felt like the most authentic choice for us. On Friday, December 6th, 2024, we said "I do" at San Francisco City Hall. The ceremony lasted all of five minutes—short, sweet, and exactly our style. With the formalities behind us, we’re excited to celebrate with the people we love. We hope you’ll be able to join us!