Our story takes place in one of the best cities in the world - Chicago, IL. I moved from Sacramento, CA to Chicago in August 2021 for nursing school and Collin had been living in the city for the past 7 years. Our love story begins with swiping right on a dating app called Bumble, but the twist is, the girl has to make the first move. With many nerves and nothing to lose, I sent Collin a cheesy pickup line (which I found on Google) that said "Are you a vending machine? Because you look like an absolute snack." To my surprise, I got a response back and Collin had never heard this pick up line yet, so he gave me extra brownie points for being creative. Our first date was on March 3, 2022 at Lucky Strike in Wrigleyville. We hit it off, the conversation was good, and our competitiveness during the arcade games were equally matched which made everything more fun! Collin beat me in bowling and skeeball, but I beat him in pop-a-shot basketball and air hockey. The first date was a huge success and so much fun! We were already planning the next date! Funny enough, we ran into each other in Old Town during St. Patrick's Day weekend, and that just felt like a sign from the universe! We had so many fun dates - we watched a March Madness game, trying new restaurants and bars in Chicago, exploring the city, a lot of Cubs games, Blackhawks games, and Bulls games. Somehow Collin has taught me to love football Sundays! We both love sports and enjoyed spending time together. In 2023, Collin and I moved into a new apartment together in Lakeview. Our favorite bar called Murphy's Bleachers was just down the street from us. We would often go there for drinks and found they had one of the best chicken caesar wraps! We also loved to walk our dog Zuri along the lakeshore path. Throughout the years, we've traveled to many places including Hawaii, LA, San Diego, New York, Florida, and Wisconsin. We've also been to many concerts together, our favorites have been Zac Brown Band and Luke Combs. Life has been fun together!! After 2 years of dating, on March 2, 2024, Collin proposed on the Lakeshore path with the Chicago skyline and Navy Pier in the background. It was one of the best moments of our lives!! We then spent the rest of the day bar hopping around the city, just the two of us enjoying the moment. In August 2024, we said goodbye to Chicago and drove 30 hours to Sacramento, CA. While we miss Chicago and our friends and family there, we have adjusted to the California life. Zuri has enjoyed sunbathing everyday. Now, we look forward to our wedding day on April 26, 2026. We can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together and to share this day with all of you!