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Like any great love story, you could say that this one was made for the movies. Lauren and Franco met while getting their MBA at Duke. During the early days of school, they volunteered together in the Admissions Lounge, where they proceeded to flirt with each other, rather than help the soon-to-be-interviewed prospective students. Over the following weeks, they crossed paths many times and would later realize each had memorized the other's schedule, making these "chance encounters" less about chance. It wasn’t until the End-of-Term Party when Lauren wore a Captain America t-shirt that things started to get interesting. For those unaware, Franco is an expert of all things related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Tony Stark's cheeseburger preference to how Matt Damon's cameo came about in Ragnarok. Lauren had no idea how important her choice of the Captain America t-shirt was at the time. After weeks of light stalking and heavy texting, Franco finally agreed to go on a date with Lauren (though it was likely the other way around). They soon hit it off and became inseparable. She fell for his never-ending curiosity, passion for music and terrible dad jokes. He fell for her room-filling laughter, love for rosé and fondness for cheeseburgers. For the remainder of their time at Duke, the two studied really really really hard but mostly traveled the world together, from Bali to Patagonia to Oaxaca. Lauren even started working on her Spanish. But most importantly, for Lauren to become a Marvel expert herself, the two watched all 23 movies consecutively (a few times), culminating with the most recent Avengers film. Months before graduating while having dinner at The Publican, Lauren and Franco made the milestone decision to live in Chicago. They've since hosted their first joint family Thanksgiving (in a 1 bedroom apartment), decorated several Christmas trees, attended music festivals, bought every Marvel movie, and simply enjoy life together in the Windy City.

For Lauren’s birthday in September, the pair made the trek to Oaxaca and Mexico City to celebrate. They initially traveled with Franco's parents but were later surprised by the rest of the family and friends that had shown up for the weekend. This is where the superhero stuff comes into play. That Captain America t-shirt had helped Franco start a conversation with Lauren a few years back. It's arguably how their relationship started, and Franco wanted to bring it full-circle. But he needed a little help for this to happen. Over the course of the previous 6 months, he managed to turn his Dad from a superhero & sci-fi movie skeptic into an avid Marvel fan. Unbeknownst to his Dad at the time, Franco had set in motion a plan, months in the making, that would help minimize suspicion and add a little flair to the conversation that was about to happen. On 9/20/19, the night of Lauren's birthday, Franco asked his Dad to share his own experience of watching all of those movies and to ask Lauren why she liked superhero films. Having sat through all 23 Marvel movies several times, she now considered herself a certified expert and explained how she appreciated the meticulous effort that went into each movie. It was at that point when Franco chimed in. As he began his own explanation, he grabbed a napkin from the table and lit it on fire. The flame startled and confused everyone, but eventually dissipated and a ring appeared. You see...similar to the Marvel movies that Franco admired, he noted how things aren't always what they appear to be. Franco didn’t just invite their family and friends down to Mexico City for Lauren’s birthday, but rather, for a proposal at the same restaurant where his parents had gotten engaged. It was soon clear to Lauren that everyone was in on the moment. That's when Franco asked Lauren to spend forever with him. Between the tears and utter surprise, she gleefully nodded yes to her very own superhero. And the rest was history.

We are so excited to share our special day with all of our loved ones. We cannot begin to express how much each of you mean to us. We hope that you can join us to celebrate our love story in Chicago later this year! And in true Franco fashion, we promise there will be some surprises along the way too.