Nearly a decade later, we’re getting married!

Kindly RSVP ASAP so we can finalize our guest list — thank you!

Back in 2015, I was deep in SAT prep with my math tutor at Starbucks, sipping a giant trenta strawberry refresher. During one session, I overheard a cute guy making a witty sriracha joke with his friends. To me, anyone who could pull off a good sriracha joke had to be trustworthy — a very scientific method, I know. After my tutor left, I needed a quick restroom break (thanks to that massive refresher) and asked the guy — Corben — if he could watch my stuff. He kindly agreed. When I came back, I asked if I could join him at his bigger table since his friends had left. He welcomed me, and we ended up talking for hours like old friends. As it was time to leave, I worked up the nerve to ask for his Facebook to stay in touch. He smiled and said, “I’ll get your number next time I see you.” I thought I had just been gently rejected. What I didn’t realize was that Corben had overheard my tutor say, “I’ll see you here tomorrow at the same time.” So he had a secret plan: he came back to Starbucks the next day at exactly 4 PM, casually “ran into me,” and this time — he asked for my number. We soon discovered we had grown up just minutes apart and had even gone to the same preschool. I told him I had a teacher named “Mrs. Tree,” and he laughed — “There was only a Mrs. Cree and a Mrs. Hitchcock, so you must’ve had Mrs. Cree with me!” (I was still learning English then, so it was a fair mistake!) We’d first met at four years old, grew up just minutes apart, and somehow found each other again — at just the right time. Now, almost a decade later, we’re planning our wedding and feeling so lucky that life brought us full circle.

In December 2023, during a family trip to Taipei 🇹🇼, Corben proposed — so that my A-ma (阿嬤) and A-gong (阿公), along with my aunts, uncle, cousins, sister, and dad could be part of the moment. With the secret help of Uncle Steve, Auntie Sarah (who even made handmade macarons with our names on them!), and my sister, he planned the sweetest surprise. At dinner, Corben stood up, tapped his glass, and gave a toast that instantly quieted the room: “Jackie, I have loved you every day since I met you. This is such a special moment with all of your family. I hope every day for the rest of our lives will feel as meaningful as this one — and I hope you’ll marry me.” 💗 Then, to everyone’s surprise — and in perfect Mandarin — he added: 「我只愛葉家彤」(wǒ zhǐ ài Yè Jiā Tóng) — “I only love Jackie.” 🥹 The moment was perfectly imperfect — full of nerves, laughter, and love. Corben spoke so softly (he was a little nervous, of course 😂), and I was so excited I grabbed the ring before he could even put it on my finger. We were both a little overwhelmed in the best way. It all happened so fast that my family kind of blinked and went, “Wait, what just happened?!” 😂 So they asked us to do a “take two” — just so they could actually hear the proposal and get a clearer video. We were a little more composed the second time… but we’ll definitely never forget the first take. 😆 We feel especially grateful that my grandparents — who won’t be able to travel to the wedding — were there with us that day. It’s a memory we’ll treasure forever. ❤️ After that, we spent the rest of the trip soaking it all in — and laughing a lot. I had Corben re-proposing to me for photos all across Taiwan: in front of Taipei 101, at scenic lookouts, or anytime the background was pretty enough. It became our little inside joke and made everything feel even more special and silly :)

From preschool classmates to Starbucks strangers — it really does feel like fate had a hand in bringing us back together. Can you guess which ones we are below? :)