It all started in 2021, when they first met at a game night taking place at a mutual friend’s house in Austin while Lauren was in town visiting her best friend, Sarah, for the weekend. Though their only interaction that day consisted of Lauren briefly introducing herself towards the end of the night, it was the beginning of what would first become a friendship and later blossom into the relationship and life they both feel so grateful to have built together today. After getting to know each other more and naturally gravitating towards one another at various gatherings with friends over time, Grayson eventually called Lauren in January 2022 to ask her on a first date. It was an immediate yes, and from there, Grayson planned what Lauren considers to be the best first date (and now the last one!) she’s ever been on. Grayson made the drive down to Houston to pick Lauren up before they walked through the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Afterwards, they grabbed dinner at a cozy bistro with some of the best pasta they’ve had to this day and then stayed out until almost 2 a.m. talking over drinks. By the end of the night, their first date had lasted a total of 14 hours, and even that didn’t feel like enough. A couple of short weeks later, they road tripped up to Santa Fe, New Mexico together, along with friends, for a weekend ski trip. Later, Grayson confessed that he had originally initiated the planning of this trip with a motive other than just skiing in mind: spending more time with Lauren. Coincidentally, both Lauren and Grayson had fond memories of going to Santa Fe to ski with their families a handful of times growing up. Their trip to Santa Fe together in February 2022 was full of good times on the slopes and laughs with their group of closest friends, but it was the late-night conversations between just the two of them, that really made that first trip unforgettable. Since then, they, along with their group of friends, have aimed to make a tradition out of it by planning an annual ski trip with each other every February, so it only felt right to continue that tradition by getting married among their closest family and friends in Santa Fe this February (and of course getting some skiing in afterwards too). Following their first date and trip to Santa Fe, Lauren and Grayson drove back and forth between Austin and Houston to see each other almost every weekend, and in April 2022, Grayson officially asked Lauren to be his girlfriend after going to the Austin Kite Festival and getting Amy’s Ice Cream together. In June 2022, Lauren moved up to Austin, partially to pursue a work opportunity and be in the same city as many of her friends, but largely to be closer to Grayson as well (which she wasn’t quite ready to admit yet at the time). The more time they spent together, the more quickly they realized that their connection was the kind they both hoped would turn into more than just a relationship but a lifetime together. After a little over a year of dating in July 2023, they decided to buy their first home and put down roots together in Austin. This past March, they took their first international trip together to Amsterdam and Prague, where Grayson surprised Lauren by planning the most intimate, beautiful proposal atop one of the many historic canal bridges in Amsterdam they crossed while walking to dinner one night. Today, they both feel immensely thankful for all of the love and support they’ve received from so many friends, family members, and loved ones during this exciting season of life and over the moon about saying “I do” and beginning the rest of their lives together this February in Santa Fe!