We met in biology class our junior year of high school. A totally ordinary day that changed the trajectory of our lives. He was talking to some of our mutual friends about Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and as a fellow Marvel nerd, I couldn't help myself. I jumped right into the conversation. I don't even remember what I said, but I do remember how easy it felt to talk to him, like we had been doing it forever. Cliche, we know. After that, I started walking by the lab door every day after class, pretending it was just a coincidence. Truthfully, I was waiting for him. And then one day, he was already standing there, waiting for me instead. From walking out of that classroom together to walking through life side by side and choosing each other every day of it.

I had asked Ethan a mere 4 hours before he popped the question when he was going to propose to me. Completely unaware that he had the ring burning a hole in his pocket at that exact moment. He told me he didn’t know. Although between me and you, I had a feeling (it didn’t help he had accidentally sent me a photo of the ring a month before). About an hour after the fireworks started outside, Ethan insisted on him and I going to look at them, but the moment we stepped out the door he handed me the most precious bouquet of flowers as a “Fourth of July” celebration. Moments later, he was down on one knee and asking me to be his wife. The moments after were spent with his wonderful family celebrating and spilling all of the details on how the proposal came to be. It is to this day my favorite Fourth of July ever.

Thank you for being here and for being part of our story. Some of you have known us from the very beginning, and some of you came into our lives along the way, but each of you has shaped who we are and what this love has become. It means more to us than we can put into words to have you witness this chapter and celebrate it with us. We don’t take a single moment or a single person for granted. Truly, thank you for loving us, supporting us, and walking alongside us as we begin this life together.