Madden and Dani met on the bus to their first class at Duke—Chemistry 101. They spent the semester in the front row together, but drifted apart when the semester ended. Two years later, fate intervened. Dani was visiting San Francisco for a Giants game when she ran into Madden outside the Caltrain station. After their chance reunion, Madden texted Dani hoping to hang out before she left for study abroad—but her one-word response, “sure” left him convinced he didn’t stand a chance. That is, until she followed up with an actual plan: burritos and a drive to the beach. Dani picked him up and they drove over the hill to Half Moon Bay. As they walked along the sand with burritos in hand, Madden set their food down to take off his shoes… and completely misjudged the tide. A wave rushed in and swept the burritos away. Unwilling to lose perfectly good burritos—Dani sprinted into the ocean after them. She sacrificed her phone, managed to save one burrito, and came back drenched and laughing. Madden was captivated, and somehow the chaotic beach day, turned into a perfect afternoon. Later that week, Dani left to study abroad for the next six months. Despite the distance and time zones, they talked almost every day. When they finally landed back on Duke’s campus in January 2018, they went on their first official date. From there, they built a life together—graduating from Duke and moving from Austin to Seattle to Boston, and now to Los Angeles. In May 2024, after Madden’s first year of business school, he planned a trip for them to Japan. He found a beautiful hike overlooking Mt. Fuji and orchestrated the perfect proposal at the summit. It was the happiest surprise of Dani's life. Madden and Dani are so excited to have you here to celebrate their wedding and the life they’ve built—and the one they can’t wait to continue together.