We're Getting Married!

Andrea and Shay met in early 2018 after matching on Tinder. They can't say they clicked right away, though Shay remained in the back of Andrea's mind for quite some time. It was not until July 2019 that they really started to connect. Andrea reached out to Shay and asked him to go see "Spider-Man: Far From Home", stating she "wanted to go see it" but had no one to go with. Andrea knew that Spider-Man was Shay's favorite, and this might be the smartest way to get him to hang out. It should also be noted that Andrea did not care for Marvel/superhero movies AT ALL at this time. Luckily for Andrea, Shay is always open to seeing movies multiple times because, of course, he had already seen it. After a month of hanging out, going to movies, basically "non-date" dating, Shay asked Andrea to be his girlfriend the day before her birthday on 8/14/19. From there, Shay and Andrea saw each other almost every single day between work and other obligations. In January of 2020, they said, "I love you" for the first time after Andrea came home from work to a gift from Shay in her living room - a punching bag with a note that said "You are amazing! I'm so happy I found you. Anytime you have a bad day or work sucks, come home and beat the sh!t out of this! I <3 you" (Andrea had many bad days at work and loved to kick box). Six months into their relationship, Shay suddenly needed to find a new place to live due to conflict between his dog (Siku) and his roommate's dog. Andrea was all too eager to ask Shay and Siku to move into her small basement apartment. Both Andrea and Shay knew that this was early in the relationship, but they made the leap anyway. Living together came with its ups and downs, learning each other's habits and needs. But Shay, Andrea, and Siku fell into a comfortable lifestyle. The biggest hurdle came when the whole world shut down just one month into living with each other thanks to COVID-19. Over the next few months, Andrea changed jobs, and they were both unhappy with their other roommate, so they decided they needed to officially get their own apartment. Shay and Andrea (and Siku!) moved into their very own place in June 2020. Since their beginnings, Shay and Andrea have taken several vacations together, including twice to San Diego and once to Chicago. They often discuss taking more trips to places like Greece and Disneyland (because of course, Andrea is also now a huge Marvel fan). In 2021, they adopted a puppy and named him Arlo. Siku begrudgingly loves him. Andrea and Shay have stuck together through illnesses, surgeries, family deaths, several moves, job changes, and more. They are beyond excited to celebrate this next step with friends and family.