We’re getting married!

Qaleb: Short story is we met on Bumble. Laura: The year was 2020. Middle of the pandemic and I just graduated from TCU. Qaleb: And I had just torn my Achilles... Laura: I remember first seeing your profile and noticing how well traveled and outgoing you seemed. Qaleb: I am very much not outgoing, but go on. Laura: I really wanted to meet you and tried going on a date right away. Qaleb: But again, torn achilles. I needed surgery so we didn’t get to meet for 2 weeks. BUT, we had established a natural rapport texting over those 2 weeks, so I was super excited to finally meet you. Laura: That makes sense because our first date lasted 5 hours (it felt like 2 minutes). I realized it was midnight and I still had an hour drive home. Qaleb: You made me a delicious molten chocolate lava cake also! Laura: As soon as I got home, my first thought was “When’s our second date?” AND I told my roommate I just met the guy I was going to marry. Qaleb: It was by far the best date I’d ever had. I could’ve sat and talked with her for another 5 hours. I knew it was special and from there, we had like 6-7 dates in about 2 weeks. Laura: We made it official at the end of August. Qaleb: A week before her birthday. So no pressure… Laura: Birthdays are a huge deal to me, but he didn’t know that. Even though I was expecting a lot, he still surprised me and made a pandemic birthday so special and thoughtful. He even asked my closest friends for their advice because he knew I hold their opinions so highly. Qaleb: I’m pretty great ;) Jokes aside, I liked her A LOT. Laura: And like that, my birthday turned into meeting his childhood friends to spending Christmas together to finally meeting each other’s families. Qaleb: Don’t forget Alfie! Laura: Of course! In October 2020, we started fostering (read: adopting) Alfie, our soul dog. Qaleb: It was a memorable 2 years in Texas. We moved in together in June 2022, after I graduated from my Master’s program. 2 months later, we made a big move to New York City. Laura: Which we ended up not loving. Qaleb: It wasn’t the best, but visits from family/friends helped. Laura: True, and it was a very cool experience that we’re ultimately glad we did. Laura: Qaleb then achieved the impossible, and got Taylor Swift tickets in Los Angeles through that horrible Ticketmaster presale. Qaleb: Totally worth the 5 hours. Laura: That’s where he managed to pull off the impossible again. Qaleb: I love planning romantic and extravagant dates, so a proposal worthy of Laura was the perfect challenge. For 20 days I gave her a card: one side had an animated picture of us, the other a clue. Each day’s answer referenced our relationship and hinted at the day’s activity. The first card said “Where did we meet?” Since the answer is my house in Texas, we flew to Texas. I made sure Laura went into the LA trip thinking Taylor Swift was going to be the highlight and not to expect anything else. Laura: Basically, he lied to me. Qaleb (rolls his eyes): Worked like a charm. On the day of the proposal, I told her we needed to dress up to go to a Malibu vineyard. As we walked through these gorgeous arches, I had instructed a violinist to start playing our song. That’s when Laura looked at me, and though she was choking up, she managed to ask: “Wait, is this?” And I just smiled at her. Laura: I immediately started crying. Qaleb: I had my sister set up a floral pathway with a letter at the end. When we reached the pathway’s conclusion, Laura read the letter (through tearful eyes), and when she finished, I was on my knee, holding the beautiful ring we designed together. I barely finished asking “Will you marry me?” before she collapsed into my arms an emphatic “YES!” Laura: Best day ever! Qaleb: After that, we moved down to Boca Raton (officially in January ‘24), and have been wedding planning since! Laura: We can’t wait to celebrate with our closest friends and family. It means the world to have you here with us.