Since I, Patrick, haven't done nearly enough to assist in the planning of this wedding, I thought the least I could do was write our love story. We met in class at the University of Arkansas, in Intro to Mathematical Proof, but didn't immediately hit it off. She sat in the front row with a friend, studiously taking notes and generally being a good student. I sat in the back row and did my best to knock out the homework that was due that day in the few minutes we had before the instructor arrived. That was a pattern that continued through all the various classes we had together, until we took Intro to Geometry the first semester of our senior year. I don't know what it was about Euclid, but romance was in the air. Either that or asbestos, the Science and Engineering building is pretty ancient. The first real conversation we had was about Austin City Limits, a music festival in Austin, TX that Laura very much wanted to go see. It turned out we had pretty similar taste in music, and that common interest nurtured a budding friendship. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in making it more than just a friendship, but I couldn't quite work up the nerve to ask her out. Laura says the first time she really started to see me in a romantic light was when, for our final project, we had to give a presentation to the class about a topic of our choice. I had completely forgotten about this project, and had nothing prepared. Laura knew this. When I walked up to the front of class and gave a thorough, well-spoken presentation pulled completely from thin air, that was the moment Laura decided I was the man for her.

Laura and I found ourselves staring down the barrel of graduation. I was head over heels for her already, and if I’d just been a little less shy I might have said something about it sooner. Instead Laura texted me around midnight one night asking if I wanted to go get coffee, I guess she had more chutzpah than I did. An ice cube slipped out of my mouth and went skittering across the room. Other than that though what I most remember about our first date is how easy it was to talk to Laura. She was so smart, so charismatic. She even let me cheat off her homework, so I knew she was a keeper. Things moved pretty rapidly after that, it was obvious to both of us that what we had was special. The first time I told her I loved her was in Oklahoma City, about a month later. I think I did a pretty good job of picking my moment. We’d decided to go for a walk along this canal, flanked on either side by repurposed factories. The streetlights were reflected on the surface of the water, there was music in the air, it was all very romantic. Laura lit up like a Christmas tree when I finally said the big “L” word. We got into a car accident the very next day, April Fool’s Day. I don’t think that’s irony but it definitely felt like the universe was playing a joke on us. In the months that followed we got a dog together, moved in together, and set about building a life together. I can safely say that I didn’t know it was possible to be as happy as I am with Laura. I thought the way people talked about love that they were just being sappy, then I went and turned into a cliche. I proposed to her at Crystal Bridges about a year and a half after our first date. I’d planned to propose in their abstract art exhibit, but Laura got on my case about rushing her through the museum so I had to improvise. I chose a statue wreathed in flowers and greenery instead, and honestly I think that was probably the better option. If you’re reading this you can probably guess what her answer was.