All good things come in threes...including the story of us!

José and Isabelle met on Hinge. Ah, the joys of modern dating. Maybe they should have left it to fate - Isabelle maintains that they would’ve met through Auburn Housing connections anyways - but leaving it to fate has never been Izzy’s style. And after more than four years scouring the Plains, she was almost out of time to find a man worthy of taking to the Lathe. Had she been considering Auburn tradition, she would have known she’d find him late in the game; after all, Auburn is notorious for a last-minute Hail Mary miracle. But alas we have Hinge to thank for the happy couple - proof that sometimes all fate needs is a little nudge and a really solid algorithm. (War Eagle, anyways) After two and a half days of talking and multiple dates requested by Isabelle, they AT LONG LAST went on their first date, slacklining on Cater Lawn. Annnnd their date was promptly crashed by a friendly, if unexpected face, Isabelle’s former supervisor, Zach, who just so happened to also be José’s best friend. The crashing was accidental, he had tracked José’s location and innocently came to hang out, not realizing José was busy wooing Isabelle. The game of frisbee he roped them into playing however, was very much on purpose. Shoutout to Zach for the unconventional first date activity, though, because Isabelle knew she must REALLY like José when she actually agreed to play with them. As the day stretched on, the date crashers continued, surprising but not unwelcome hitchhikers on the path to love. Isabelle and José both realized they needed groceries… and so did José’s other best friend Pat who they picked up on their way to shop. (Isabelle would soon realize José was a man with a lot of best friends, all of whom he was devoted enough to let them tag along on what was surely the best - and unbeknownst to him also the last - first date of his life.) This third wheel’s activity of choice was more up Isabelle’s alley, joining the brand-new pair to sing Hamilton songs in the car. Under those beautiful orange and blue sunsets (that’s just God’s way of saying War Eagle), Isabelle and José got serious pretty quickly; José told her that he loved her less than 2 weeks after meeting her. When you know, you know. They also set about adopting their first child together (a Maine Coon named Miso Soup) after only a month of dating. Over the next few months, Isabelle and José continued to bring each other into their lives, meeting family and friends WAY sooner than socially acceptable. That included an early-days road trip from Auburn to Atlanta to Young Harris to Commerce to Charleston. When José insisted they pull the car over as they left Young Harris just to look at the stars, Isabelle knew she was well and truly in love. After an amazing summer together in Auburn, including a trip to Mexico, adulthood settled in and Isabelle’s job took her to Huntsville. Place your bets on who cried more.

Their long distance journey started with Isabelle in Huntsville and José in Auburn. Then Isabelle moved to New Orleans and their love for each other grew along with the distance between them. Luckily, a year later José moved to Baton Rouge and they knew their long distance days were Geaux-ing away. During the year and a half of long-distance, Isabelle and José were always on the move, visiting each other in their respective cities and traveling the world together. This included many great road trips and even more great flights - both of which for José meant many great opportunities to nap. Together, Isabelle and José have been to three countries and eleven continental states; they even have favorite and least favorite airport bathrooms. With every packed U-haul & stowed carry-on, they fell more in love. But poor Miso Soup was feeling lonely with all this travel his parents were doing so Izzy and José asked the cat stork to bring him a sister and shortly after they welcomed Julep to the family. Finally, in the summer of 2023, José made the move to Tulane - thanks Uncle Gary! - and rolled that wave all the way to NOLA.

Now, this family of four is happily living in a tiny house in New Orleans. They’ve made so many good memories in The Big Easy and, after joining sports leagues, enjoying some of the best food in the world, and attending many, many parades, they have started to really feel like locals; they’ve even starting using “N’Orleans” unironically when talking about their beloved city! After a few months of living together, each lovebird began plotting to propose. Isabelle took the leap first and proposed to José in Seattle on a hiking trail called Bridal Veil Falls. José completely shocked Isabelle a few months later by proposing during their nightly crossword puzzle. He snuck the words Isabelle, Will, You, Marry, Me into the puzzle aptly using the clue ‘bride’, 8 letters down, for “Isabelle.” After enjoying two Mardi Gras seasons, they are finally doing what true New Orleanians do – leaving NOLA for Mardi Gras. They chose March 1st - the weekend before Mardi Gras/ Fat Tuesday - for their wedding since that is the day they began dating in 2021 and, in truth, are bummed to miss Mardi Gras. Don’t be surprised to see some classic NOLA flair during their celebration. (Great news for Zach and Pat, this time they are invited and don’t have to crash.) Izzy and José are so excited to celebrate their love with the people they love and can’t wait to see everyone in Dahlonega, GA!