Julia and James grew up a mere ten minutes apart - close enough that destiny was clearly circling, but apparently not close enough to get its timing right. We didn’t officially meet until Grade 9, when we were both awkward teenagers doing our best impressions of cool (results were mixed). We briefly "dated" in high school, a relationship highlighted by Julia asking James to the Havergal formal in Grade 11 and an unresolved mystery that still sparks lively debate: who actually didn’t reply to the last BlackBerry Messenger message? The truth may never be known, and frankly, we’re okay keeping it that way. Life carried on. We remained friends through and after university, sharing social circles, Toronto condo pre-parties, and the occasional “what are you up to now?” Meanwhile, we both chased master’s degrees and jobs that took us to different countries, continents, and time zones .... proving that once again, timing was not our strong suit. Fast forward to July 2022. A fateful FaceTime call, one James almost ignored, changed everything. During the call, he learned Julia would be back in Toronto for a mutual friend’s birthday. James confidently assured said friend (hi Cailey 👋) that while it sounded lovely, flying back from the UK would be… unlikely. The call ended, and James immediately started looking up flights to Toronto. One month later, James walked into the birthday party to “surprise” the birthday girl, though his ulterior motive was now crystal clear. A week after that, Julia dropped James off at the airport with a promise that she’d "definitely" come visit London soon. Cue a year of long distance: flights across the Atlantic, new adventures in new countries, countless happy reunions, too many teary goodbyes in airport departure halls, 10,000 hours of FaceTime and 5,000 hours blaming each others WiFi for poor call reception. Eventually, we decided that maybe, just maybe, it would be easier to live on the same continent. Julia moved to the UK, and we officially closed the distance. Two flats, different London neighborhoods, and a few years later, on a drizzly July evening, Julia thought she was heading out for a casual dinner at a cool new neighborhood restaurant. James, however, had other plans. After dinner, with a little behind-the-scenes help from Maggie and Will, he proposed...and the rest is history. It may have taken a few missed messages, several time zones, and more airport goodbyes than we’d recommend, but we got there in the end. We’re so excited to finally celebrate in the same place, at the same time, with all of you.