We're getting married!

Every love story has its own beginning & ours began with a moment of chance, a shared smile, and a little cosmic timing. We first crossed paths through a dating app. We matched, we messaged, and to our surprise, the conversation didn’t immediately fizzle out (a modern miracle). From the very first chat there was an unspoken ease between us. Our first date went better than either of us expected — no awkward silences, no emergency exit plans, and a shared sense of humor that still keeps us laughing. What began as casual conversation quickly turned into something more — long talks, spontaneous adventures, laughter came naturally, and something just clicked. But one moment stands out that made us both stop and wonder if the universe was giving us a little nudge. Not long after we met, one of us happened to glance at the other’s phone screen — and realized we both had a similar image of 11:11 as our lock screen background— completely unplanned & not knowing it would one day become one of our favorite little signs. For each of us, 11:11 had always symbolized hope, wishes, and good things just around the corner. Seeing it reflected back in each other felt like a quiet wink from the universe — as if it was saying, "You're in the right place." From that moment on, things just kept falling into place — not always perfectly, but always with purpose. Now, surrounded by friends and family (and hopefully on time, at 11:11), we’re ready to make one more wish come true: a lifetime together.

It was a gorgeous day in Downtown Orlando at Lake Eola Park, known for its beautiful views of the city. I had just wrapped up a full day of workshops for a work conference I was attending (and, of course, completely forgot to eat the entire day). Earlier that morning, Jordan casually mentioned something about dinner reservations but very persistent on me being ready on time. Now, I’m not one to miss a thing, and I had a feeling something was going on. I’m pretty good at picking up on the little signs — like him rushing me to be ready on time, a spontaneous mirror selfie he insisted on taking, and the way he kept glancing at his phone. But hey, I decided to go with the flow and enjoy the moment, figuring I’d let my nerves kick in later... probably after dinner, when I suspected the proposal might happen. We made our way to Eola Park, apparently, taking the long scenic route to our dinner. Little did I know Jordan was dealing with a bit of behind-the-scenes chaos. He had arranged for a photographer to capture the moment, but his bad cell reception made it nearly impossible to share our exact location with her. So, there we were, walking around the park, while Jordan kept trying to find a way to reach her. Luckily, she had the selfie he took earlier to help her track us down! After what felt like an eternity (and a full lap of the park), Jordan and the photographer finally spotted each other, though they had been going in opposite directions this whole time. Jordan gave her a subtle thumbs-up behind his back, all while I remained blissfully unaware that we were nearing the moment he’d been planning for weeks. Eventually, Jordan led me to a quiet, picturesque spot by the lake, where, truth be told, I was still mostly focused on satisfying my very hungry stomach. In the middle of me wondering why this was taking so long, Jordan dropped to one knee, looked up at me with that familiar smile, and asked me to spend forever with him. Without a second of hesitation, I said the easiest “Yes” of my life. We spent the next few hours taking pictures, completely overwhelmed with love and happiness, way past sun set. As we got back to the resort, it hit us — we had completely missed dinner.