It was a hot May night on Mill Ave in Tempe. This was a place I visited often during my early 20s, and finding love was the furthest thing from my mind. As was the norm, I had thrown on a pair of jeans and a checkered button up which was common in Great Falls MT; where I had spent the last 2 years of my collegiate career playing basketball. Although I felt confident, my wardrobe would suggest the contrary as my bride still gets a laugh when reminiscing about the duds I used to wear. After doing some pre-gaming in the parking lot (as is tradition) my buddy Chris and I arrived at Zuma nightclub where the music was loud, drinks were cheap, and girls were typically looking to get it going on the dance floor. Rum & coke was my drink of choice, meaning I was ready to burn the candle on both ends (or something like that). I remember sitting at the bar with Chris when my bride to be came walking through the door. The first thing I noticed, was how tall and elegant she was walking in on 6" heels (I would later come to find out that after several drinks, she didn’t look so graceful in such high heels). But truthfully, first thing that stood out, was her long legs in her little pink dress with her radiant long dark hair. Perhaps the most alluring part of watching her walk through the bar, was the fact that she didn’t take one second to look at me (which still happens regularly when I upset her). I knew then, I had to talk to her. Unfortunately, my buddy had noticed her as well and said "Let's go talk to those girls" calling dibs. I hadn’t even noticed that she was with a friend, but like a good wingman, I complied. Chris sat down along side my future bride as I sat next to her friend in a small booth. After about 5 minutes, Chris gave me the signal that he was getting nowhere and that we should probably move on to the next ones, as we liked to say.

Shortly after our less than stellar first impression, I expressed to Chris my interest in the girl he just spoke to and told him I had to take my shot, he understood and moved on. I sat next to my future bride, but being as loud as it was in the club, there was a better chance of having a girl dance up on you than actually having a meaningful conversation, but I was compelled to try. She allowed me to sit next to her, where for the next 10 minutes, the conversation appeared to go nowhere. She was not overly engaged as she would answer my questions with more head nods than actual replies. As I tried to create some sort of enticement, I figured I’d bring up sports (being that was probably my most appealing attribute at the time). After hearing that she was a former athlete in both basketball and volleyball, I dropped the best line I had at my disposal, “Did you know I was on ESPN's top 10 for basketball?" Believe it not, this drew her attention and we were able to make small talk about our lives, sports and our hobbies (basically, we were both into partying). After ordering another drink, I asked her to dance. As things started to get more intimate, she said she had to take off as her and her friend had other plans for the evening. I asked for her number, which she was hesitant to give me at first but complied. As we said goodbye and she turned to leave, it was then that I did something that I had never done before. I’m not sure if it was her beauty, my desire to want her to stay, or the several drinks I had, but at the last moment I grabbed her hand and spun her back into me. Before she could say anything, I kissed her. Although I was half expecting her to slap me, she instead fell into me and kissed me back. When we pulled apart I looked into her face, with her rosy blushing cheeks, and told her I would text her. As fate would have it, we were able to spend the rest of the summer together and re-connected when I returned home from my last year in MT.

From our early beginnings together, we were both creatures of the night. We spent a lot of our time out and about in bars, going to rowdy concerts, swimming and of course, going to our fair share of sporting events. We spent our first two years together becoming best friends and by 2013, we finally started to celebrate ourselves as a real couple. In August of 2013 we began our yearly trips to San Diego! This had become such a special place for us, we knew we wanted to make our forever official in the one place that brings out the magic in our relationship. Over the past 10 years we have had our share of unforgettable moments that spark memories of laughter, joy, and passion, but it is just as important to recollect on the other times where we have faced adversity as a couple, leading us into frustration, anger and many quarrels over the years. The hard moments have tested our relationship as we have learned more about ourselves, what it means to have patience and what it means to make each other a priority. Although we’ve had some dark moments, our love is the light that continuously brings us out of the dark, betters us, and makes us closer than ever before. From living with roommates and parents to moving in together. From being kids to now being real adults. Through different jobs and graduating Med school and college, we have been through it all! We can both agree that after our long days of work, there is nothing more rewarding than getting cozy on the couch, putting on an episode of Friends (bride) or a Suns basketball game (groom) and just being together. After 10 years, we feel our relationship is just starting to get interesting! As our passions and desires are now more focused on each other, furthering our careers, traveling and buying a house one day, we know our best years are yet to come! And maybe somewhere in the future… a baby. Actually, probably one more dog!

We know our wedding isn't necessarily traditional. We hope all of you can get away for a little RNR and to join us for our weekend celebrations! We love you all and we hope to see you Friday and Saturday!