We eloped!

Brandon and Taylor had spent months planning a secret elopement in their favorite desert town, Palm Springs. As the weekend neared, it became clear that some plans would need to change due to the whole virus thing (you know…the pandemic we are all living through right now?). After some phone calls and reservation shuffling, they decided to move their elopement up a day to ensure their friends could fly home safely. Things ended up coming together for a perfect day. Brandon and Taylor exchanged vows on the steps of Palm Springs City Hall. Their dog Franklin was the best man and their dear friends/world’s greatest wedding photographers Christy and George Gagnon photographed and officiated the ceremony. After the vows and lots of tears and laughter, they headed over to one of their favorite spots in town, Moorten Botanical Garden. The official marriage license signing took place at In n Out where they ate their first meal as a married couple. After a quick trip for some classic “Welcome to Palm Springs” sign photos, Taylor, Brandon, and Franklin ended the night sitting in front of the fire at the hotel pool, eating ice cream cones, excited to start their family’s new life together.

In October 2019, to celebrate their anniversary (and being Franklin’s parents for 3 months) the family of 3 went on a desert getaway in Joshua Tree, CA where Brandon asked Taylor to marry him. Her immediate reaction when he pulled out the ring was “NO!!!!” - as in “omg no way!” or “I can’t believe you pulled this off without me knowing!”. It took a moment for her to realize she needed to give a verbal “yes!” before Brandon had a heart attack.

Taylor and Brandon started 2019 off by packing up their belongings and moving across the country to Los Angeles. It was a scary move for them both, but they quickly fell in love with the weather, the beaches in Malibu, quick access to Disneyland, and being able to Postmates anything at any time. On the Fourth of July they rescued their pride and joy, their Mexican Hairless Dog - Franklin Hytes. Franklin was named after their first apartment together in New Hampshire (Franklin Heights) and their favorite drag queen from RuPaul’s Drag Race: Brooke Lynn Hytes (unfortunately no, she isn’t available to officiate the wedding).

Brandon and Taylor met in Portsmouth, New Hampshire as teenagers during a dramatic street fight (think West Side Story, but more flannel) between their respective friend groups circa 2008. After a decade of friendship and several almost-dates, Brandon asked Taylor out on a "real date" in 2017. Taylor had just gone to a wedding that weekend and was feeling particularly sentimental, so she said yes. On one of their first few dates, they both knew they had found ~The One~, but refused to admit it until several months later.