We're getting married!

Shout out to Tinder! It's summer 2017 and I'm home from college. I match on Tinder with Jake. We exchange a few messages and add each other on social media, but nothing serious develops. Now it's spring 2018 and I'm in Boston. Jake messages me, and things blossom from there! When I'm back in town, we randomly both end up at Folsom Lake one day, but never meet. We eventually keep messaging and have our first date at the movies. One day, Jake surprises me by leaving a flower on my car while I'm at work. We make it official in June despite the long distance and that's the beginning of our first summer together. <3 The first goodbye was hard, but we both were determined to make it work despite the distance. Jake wrote "I love you Syd" on my arm in big black sharpie and waited at the airport until my flight took off. He eventually visited me in Boston in October that year and again in October of 2019, each time being around Halloween (one of my favorite times of the year). Boston is extra special in the fall and I'm so glad I got to experience that with Jake! Jake also made the trip to Ireland, where I was studying abroad in 2019, to see me. We had the best time exploring Ireland together! I even convinced Jake to go to a class with me :) We explored Dublin, Galway, and the Wicklow Mountains together, and made a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. We made the best memories together over the course of those two weeks, visiting a medieval castle, the Cliffs of Moher, and celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. Over the course of the next year, we continued a long distance relationship, FaceTiming each other multiple times a day and counting down until our next visit. COVID brought me back home early in 2020 and the story only goes on from there! We are so incredibly excited to begin the next chapter of our lives together and will always cherish the moments we've had over the last 7 years. Tinder, you did good.

He proposed in Tahoe at Kings Beach, a nostalgic and favorite spot of ours, just before New Years. This was where we took one of our first weekend trips together in 2018, visiting Jake's grandparents. We came back to Tahoe around Christmas time another year with his family, and I'm forever grateful that I got to experience those Tahoe memories with Jake and his family. Christmas is our favorite time of the year and now it's even more special!