Like many modern love stories, ours began with Bumble. William caught my attention with his quick wit and a story about ripping his pants earlier that week, and I knew I wanted to get to know him more. After a few days of conversation, we met for coffee at Good Ambler where he showed up with two umbrellas in case I hadn’t realized it was supposed to rain later (the chivalry!). For our second date, I sent him a “choose your own adventure” menu of options, and from there it was game on. There were quick connections at first: we’re both Ohio kids at heart, training for the Chicago Triathlon, planning our best friends’ bachelor and bachelorette parties, and working in the same industry. But it didn’t take long to realize there was so much more — shared values, a similar sense of humor, an ease that felt rare, and an eagerness to cheer each other on through all of life’s highs and lows. The more I got to know William, the stronger my feelings grew. He’s the kind of man who stops at every lemonade stand, steps up to cover the bus fare for those who can’t afford it, and will always tell you about the one good thing that happened even on a bad day. I couldn’t imagine a better teammate to go through life with and am forever thankful Bumble’s algorithm thought we should meet.

In Hayley’s main Bumble photo, she was wearing a blue-and-white striped dress having a fun time in what looked like an olive orchard. I saw she was from Cincinnati; I saw she liked to snowboard; I saw that she had an interesting job at an interesting company; I swiped right and I really found myself hoping she would swipe right on me as well. To my delight, she did. The first question Hayley asked me was: “what’s the funniest thing that happened to you this week, or the best cup of coffee you had?” I told her the pocket fabric in my jeans had torn that week and every time I put my phone in my pocket, it slipped through the hole, down my pant leg, and onto my shoe. I still don’t get why that story worked, but it worked. We continued chatting online, back and forth, until one day, on a work trip in New York, I asked her whether she’d like to get a coffee at Good Ambler when I got back. That first date was a blur. I remember having a really hard time finding a table at Good Ambler. I remember listening as Hayley told me about her wonderful circle of friends (notably, at the time, she was getting ready for Sam’s bachelorette party) and her family (I was of course a bit anxious about her extremely tall fire captain father), her ambitions in moving to Chicago, and the long and growing list of hobbies that made her visibly excited. Time has only deepened those initial feelings: I’ve seen how hard she works to keep the people she loves close; I’ve seen how she approaches her work, her hobbies (and this wedding) with ambition, care, and creativity; and I’ve seen her over and over again encounter adversity, overcome it, and keep going. I still don’t know what the future holds, but I can’t imagine a better partner to discover it with.