When Gisela was entering high school, she moved from a small town in Texas back to Florida (where she actually lived for most of her childhood), specifically to Kendall. She enrolled in Archimedean Upper Conservatory, a charter school that focused on Greek and Mathematics (I know...why?) that looked like Miami Hogwarts. During the very first day of school, Gisela walked into her Ethics class and made eye contact with Matthew. I wish I could tell you it was love at first sight...but the truth is that Matthew waved at Gisela (or so she thought) and Gisela waved back only to realize he wasn't talking to her, but his friend who was standing next to her. After class, Matthew came by Gisela's locker and in true Matthew fashion, laughed at Gisela's awkwardness. If you ask him about this conversation, he'll say Gisela was very Texan and he thought it was hilarious...Gisela thinks he was obviously intrigued. Plus how Texan can a Cuban girl from Miami really get in three years? They (naturally) exchanged phone numbers and probably KIKs and from there, they became the best of friends. So much so that their friends would tease them that one day they'd profess their love, get married and have babies (lovingly nicknamed "GisePetras" - sound familiar?). Of course, they denied this throughout their friendship...but we all know how that ended.

For our fifth anniversary, we had a staycation at the Waldorf Astoria in D.C.—not realizing until later that it used to be the Old Post Office Tower, which looking back feels like a wink from the universe, since both of Matthew’s parents worked at The United States Postal Service. We enjoyed a full day of amazing food, relaxing massages and fun in the sun. At dinner, as Gisela opened her menu, a small notebook fell out. It was the same one Matthew had given her years ago, the summer after graduating high school, filled with reasons why she should give him a chance even though we were heading to colleges six hours apart. But there was a new entry at the end, with a very important question...and as Gisela looked up, there Matthew was, on one knee!

This wedding is more than just a party—it’s a moment we’ve been building toward for years. It’s about the friendship that turned into love, the risks we took to grow together and all the little things that made us sure we wanted to spend our lives side by side. We feel incredibly lucky to be celebrating surrounded by the people who’ve shaped us, especially here, in our new home state. (After all, Virginia IS for lovers!) Having our families and friends together in one place, many meeting for the first time, means everything to us. Thank you for showing up, for traveling, for dancing, for hugging and for loving us through it all. We truly couldn’t imagine a better way to start this next chapter.