We’re getting married!

An unfolding tale of whimsy, love, and adventure Taylor: Like all great modern love stories, ours began on Tinder—with some witty banter, light flirtation, and a casual joke about using him as a drug mule to pay for law school (kidding… mostly). Gabe: Light flirtation. Heavy flirtation. I was enthusiastic and excited to serve. Tay was on her four-step plan to becoming an attorney, and I dug that. I had recently returned home from working in Latin America and had adventure in my heart, and she felt the passion. You could say we saw stardom in the making. Tay: You could say… I’m like a supernova—burn bright and crash hard. And I guess Gabe is so old that he’s practically star dust. Gabe: Four-year age difference aside, the point is, it was magnetic. Tay: Somehow, that chaotic energy turned into a first date.

 Gabe: Goes to show how great the banter was. Tay: So our first date, he picked me up in an Albertsons parking lot, in a car with tinted windows. I didn’t know where we were going. It was giving sketchy, but also… thrilling? Turns out, he was taking me brewery hopping in Oceanside. It was a gamble that paid off—and I didn’t get kidnapped. Win-win. Gabe: A grocery store parking lot was the perfect meeting place! I wanted to make sure that Tay could choose different snacks in case she didn’t like my selection. I knew our first date would be an adventure. And all good adventures need snacks (by the way, she loved my selection). Tay: Gabe got top marks for the first date. And those that came after were just as fun. We never really had “the talk” about when we became official. One day, we were dating… and the next, we were just us. No titles, no games—just a shared understanding that whatever this was, it felt right. Gabe: When I first told Tay I loved her, I noted that it was because I go to bed happy and wake up happier. Tay: A few years and two bunnies—and many memes, snacks, and road trips—later, he convinced me to go on a “walk through a lavender farm” in Hawaii. Spoiler: it was a full-blown hike. But the view was worth it—so was the ring. Gabe: Well, it was no San Gorgonio calf-buster that my dad put my mom through for their proposal, but we did get a stellar view. Tay: And now, here we are. Planning a lifetime of laughter, adventures, and maybe a few more uphill hikes (with clearer disclosures next time). Gabe: Communication is key and a constant work in progress. The destination is in the journey, and we’re excited for the road ahead. Tay & Gabe: And we can’t wait to share the beginning of this next chapter with you.