We met the old-fashioned way—through a mutual friend. We spent a lot of time hanging out in group settings and always found ourselves drawn to each other’s sense of humor and energy. After two years of this, I finally (with a little liquid courage) asked David when he was going to ask me out. The next morning, nursing a hangover and full of regret, I promised myself I’d never talk to him again—too embarrassed by my bold move. But then Thursday came, and true to his word, David asked me to dinner. Since I’d put it out there, I couldn’t back out. We had dinner, then moved on to a bar for drinks and ended up meeting some friends. By the end of the night, I was feeling hopeful. We had fun, and I was excited to hang out again. A week later, the world shut down (hello, COVID). We didn’t see each other for two weeks, but we talked every day. When we finally hung out again, it turned into what we now call our "24-hour date." We played games, had a sleepover with our two other friends, made brunch, and just spent the whole next day together. When David left that night, I turned to my roommate and told her, “I’m going to marry him.” And, well… here we are!

Libby and I first crossed paths through a mutual friend. My earliest memory of her is from her birthday celebration. Our friend invited me to meet her at a bar called 6th and La Brea, so I showed up with a few friends. When we walked in, we spotted Libby at the bar, rocking a pair of sequined pants. I went up to her, wished her a happy birthday. At first, we didn’t know each other very well. But would see each other when our friend groups hung out. One of those times was on St. Patrick’s Day, and we met up at Libby’s apartment. I was the first to arrive, and she was still getting ready. She made me a drink, and I ended up sitting in her living room on a beanbag chair, chatting with her while she finished getting ready in the bathroom. We went out with our friends and had a lot of laughs. From then on, we stayed in touch, and would flirt with each other on occasion. One night, while we were out dancing at a bar in Venice, I casually asked her to come with me to a friend’s wedding. She said she’d join me, but I didn’t take it seriously at the time and didn’t follow up. A few weeks later, Libby messaged me to ask when we were going to hang out again. I took that as my cue and invited her to dinner that weekend. We went to a place called Mixtape, one of the many restaurants on Melrose that didn’t make it over the years. We talked every day after that first date, and I truly believe Libby is the love of my life. I’m so grateful that we found each other.