We're getting married!We're getting married!

It all started with a simple haircut. He was just her brother’s barber, a familiar face she saw now and then when she dropped her brother off for a trim. A quick hello, a polite smile—nothing more. But fate had its own plans. One day, he decided to do something different. Instead of taking the usual approach, he asked her brother for permission to take her on a date. Her brother, amused but supportive, gave him the green light. But there was still one more hurdle—her mother. When he asked for her mother’s blessing, the answer was firm: No dating, focus on school. Most guys would have accepted that as the final word, but not him. Something in his heart told him he needed to hear it from her. If he was going to be turned down, he wanted it to be by her, not anyone else. So, he asked her brother for her Instagram and sent her a message. "Hey, would you like to go to dinner with me?" She could have said no. But there was something about his persistence, his respect, and his willingness to take a chance that made her say yes. The night before Halloween, they met at La Mission in Berkeley, a cozy little Mexican restaurant. The tacos they ordered turned out to be way too spicy, leaving them laughing as they struggled to finish their meals. But between bites, their conversation flowed naturally, and that was when she learned something surprising—he had asked her brother and her mom before ever asking her. She sat there, stunned, as he explained how he had sought permission first. Her brother had said yes, but her mother had said no. He hesitated after that, but in the end, he still wanted to hear the answer from her. She couldn’t help but smile. There was something endearing about the fact that he had been so respectful yet determined. With burning tongues and watering eyes from the spicy tacos, they decided to cool off with something sweet and walked to Cream for ice cream sandwiches. But neither of them was ready for the night to end just yet. They wandered to a nearby park, where they found an empty set of swings. Under the glow of streetlights, they talked for hours, gently swaying back and forth, lost in conversation. Neither of them knew it at the time, but that night, something special had begun. What started as chance encounters at a barbershop turned into something neither of them could have expected—a love that felt easy, meant to be, and destined to last forever. And now, after all the laughs, the late-night talks, and the years of growing together, that same love has brought them here—to their wedding day, ready to start the next chapter of their forever.