Once upon a time, Chris’s best friend Nick went to Cassidy’s New Year’s Eve party, where he met Jodi—and was promptly destroyed by her in Bananagrams. Fast forward to February 12th, when Nick sent Chris a simple but fateful text: “Hey, if you decide to come by tonight, Cassidy’s friend Jodi is going to be here. You should meet her.” So Chris—doing something he would never normally do—packed up his kids and headed to a Super Bowl party to meet a complete stranger. And Jodi… didn’t show. A couple of weeks later, Chris worked up the courage to email Cassidy and ask for Jodi’s number. Cassidy immediately texted Jodi to ask if it was okay to share it. Jodi replied: “Only if he’s funny.” The number was given. On March 16, 2023, Chris sent his first text: “Okay, this is a test text. This is Chris Bryan. I teach with Cassidy, and she gave me your number.” What followed was constant back-and-forth texting. They hadn’t even seen what each other looked like yet, but the connection was immediate. On March 22nd, they had their first FaceTime call—which led to their first in-person meeting the very next day… in the form of a surprise. Jodi was about to leave for a yoga retreat and decided to stop by Chris’s school. Chris was teaching his 2nd-hour Physical Science class when Cassidy walked in and said, “I’ll watch your class—someone’s here to see you.” Chris stepped into the hallway… and there she was. They hugged immediately and sparks flew. Jodi was especially impressed with Chris’s forearms. She also brought the first of many gifts: an entire grocery bag filled with fruit and veggie smoothie supplies to “smoooooth” Chris over for the weekend until their first date. That Monday, March 26th, they had their first official date—nothing flashy, just dinner at Jodi’s to actually talk and get to know each other. Jodi made Chris’s favorite: tacos. Unbeknownst to her, Chris arrived with a gift of his own. Inspired by their weeks of texting, he had created a small piece of art for her—an ink drawing of a dragonfly, the same one you now see on the invitations and stickers. From there, things moved quickly. By April 4th, they both knew they had found someone special. They made a commitment to one another and decided to go—as their parents would have said—steady.