It all began with two right swipes. Emily swiped right after spotting a handsome 6'6" man in a giraffe costume. Reece almost swiped left because Emily was “too short,” but decided to swipe right anyway—she was beautiful, smart, and adventurous. After just one day of talking, Reece asked Emily out. They met at Irvine Spectrum for lunch, and after hours of talking, Emily gave Reece a memorable side hug he still jokes about today. Their second date left them both sunburnt and inseparable. What was meant to be a 3-mile hike turned into 13 miles after they got hopelessly lost. Within their first year, they spent 160 out of 365 days side by side. As they grew together, Emily graduated from Cal State Long Beach’s nursing program and became a neonatal ICU nurse, while Reece earned his master’s in embedded and cyber-physical systems from UC Irvine and began his career as a firmware engineer. After 3.5 years of dating, Reece proposed to Emily in Switzerland—and she said yes! This past September, they bought their first home together, and the adventure continues. Now, they can’t wait to celebrate their wedding surrounded by the people they love most on their 5th anniversary!

It was a cool but sunny 33 degrees in Lucerne, Switzerland. Reece and Emily had taken the train from Lugano that morning, arriving at their hotel around noon with only two plans for the day: explore the city and make a 6 pm dinner reservation. With hours to spare, Emily leisurely unpacked, took a bath, and did her makeup—completely unaware that Reece was trying to act calm while anxiously glancing out the window every few minutes. After about two and a half hours, Reece casually mentioned, “It’s getting cloudy,” hoping to nudge things along. Emily simply replied, “Okay,” and continued getting ready without any urgency. Dressed in jeans and sneakers, she was about to walk out the door when Reece gently noted that their dinner spot was “a bit nicer.” She changed into a dress and heeled boots, and they finally headed out. The moment they stepped outside, Reece suggested a “quick 10-minute walk.” Emily grew suspicious—her outfit wasn’t ideal for strolling—but she agreed. Ten minutes later, they reached the base of a hill. Emily looked from Reece to the incline in front of them, realizing this wasn’t a casual walk. They began climbing, and just when Emily thought they’d arrived, Reece pointed across the street to another, steeper path. Halfway up, he abruptly stopped and muttered, “I left it.” Emily insisted they go back, but Reece urged her onward. After 35 minutes of uphill trekking in heels, they reached a small grassy clearing overlooking the most breathtaking view of Lake Lucerne. Convinced Reece had left the ring behind, Emily began taking photos and suggested they head back down because she was freezing. Instead, Reece reached for her hand—then got down on one knee. Emily immediately burst into uncontrollable tears as Reece delivered a heartfelt speech and asked her to marry him. Through happy sobs, Emily said yes.