Anyone who has ever glimpsed my GoodReads or Netflix accounts knows I adore a good love story. It’s become this beautiful tradition in our household where I force Jon to watch all my favorite rom-coms and then violently hush him when he dares to speak during the best lines. Such is my love of these stories that I put my college fund to spectacular use and spent a semester studying the composition of romantic comedies (thanks Mom and Dad, you’re about to see the ROI on that). But there is no story more treasured to me than ours - and I’d love to tell you a little bit of it, using the structure that Professor Hoyt would no doubt approve of: The “Meet Cute” Jon and I both went to UW-Madison, actually living in the same dorm (albeit one year apart), and both have roots in Chicago…so naturally we met in Florida. I invited a group of friends to ring in the 2022 new year at my family’s place in Siesta Key. Through our mutual friends, Chris and Zahara (who we eternally thank), Jon joined that group and we spent the weekend getting to know each other, chatting over cups of coffee at 7 am while the rest of the house was fully asleep. The “Initial Obstacle” On paper, we had a few things working against us: first, Jon is a steadfast Chicago Bears fan, while I will support the Green & Gold until I die (an obstacle we will forever battle). And second, we lived in completely different states - him outside of Madison, WI, and me in Chicago. Jon and I left Florida as friends, as we didn’t expect to see much of each other moving forward. But during those first couple months of 2022, he happened to be in Chicago on numerous occasions (how convenient, right??), culminating in the third weekend in March, where we used March Madness as an excuse to see each other all day, every day for three days straight. I distinctly remember thinking to myself “I simply cannot get enough of this person” - a fact that is more true today than it was back then. The “Falling in Love” The reason we buy the ticket, folks! In some ways, I feel like we’re still in this chapter of our story. We have spent the past four years falling in love and becoming best friends and teammates. From that weekend in March, Jon spent over a year driving five hours round trip every weekend to see me, eventually making the move to Chicago in summer of 2023. In August of 2024, we embarked on our literal dream come true - spending the next nine months traveling the country and getting to call Denver, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and Traverse City home for a short while. It was during this time that we knew for certain that home was not a place, but wherever we were together. The “Dark Moment” Sorry Professor Hoyt, but we decided to skip this one. The “Grand Gesture” I hope to never forget the feeling of seeing Jon down on one knee, when he proposed on the black sand beach in Iceland. Top tier grand gesture, if I say so myself. But in our story, what’s been more meaningful than grand gestures are all the small, daily gestures of love - constantly fueling each other with coffee, tackling the chores the other doesn’t like, supporting each other through tough days at work. The “Happily Ever After” And now we’ll get married and never have any problems and always agree on everything - isn’t that right, married couples?? While I still adore any and all love stories, they always end right before what I imagine to be the very best part: the “figuring out life together” part. We have a lifetime of successes and struggles ahead of us, and I simply cannot wait - because the best decision we’ve ever made is choosing each other as teammates. If you’re reading this (or if you immediately bailed upon reading “lack of brevity” - which, fair), thank you for being part of our story. We would not be here today without the love and support of every single one of you. We can’t wait to celebrate with you on October 30th!