We’ve always believed in the invisible string theory — the idea that two people destined to be together are connected long before they ever meet. That string tugged for the first time in the summer of 2022, when we met and felt an instant spark. But the universe wasn’t quite ready for us yet. For six months, we lived our separate lives, unknowingly ending up in the same places at the same time — even vacationing in the same location with our friends — and we even had overlapping friend groups, yet somehow never spent time with those friends at the same moment. Despite all the opportunities fate could have used to bring us together, we never crossed paths until the universe decided the timing was right. Then, on January 19, 2023, it gave the string one last pull and brought us back to each other. From that day on, everything felt effortless and meant to be, and we fell in love almost instantly.

Our proposal took place in Naples, Italy, on August 9, 2024. A day that felt so perfectly timed it could only have unfolded naturally. People always ask, “So… who proposed to whom?” But like most things in our relationship, it was a team effort from start to finish. While vacationing with some of our friends, we discreetly slipped away after a food and sightseeing tour to browse local jewelry shops, intending to buy our rings together that afternoon. What we didn’t realize was that most of Naples takes an afternoon siesta, and nearly every shop was closed! Both feeling a little defeated, we began to walk back toward the ship to reunite with our friends. Then, as if guided by fate, we turned down a narrow alley. The street looked as though it could have come straight out of Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley! It was there that we found one tiny jewelry shop still open, tucked away between all of the tall residential brownstones lining the street. Inside this small shop, a single older gentleman helped us find our rings and even resized them on the spot with an antique Italian hand-crank ring stretcher and reducer. We walked out of that little shop hand in hand, wearing the bands we chose together, and later that afternoon returned to the boat with the sweetest story and surprise for our friends.