We're Married! Let's Celebrate

We met at Central Michigan University in the Fabiano, Emmons & Woldt lobby in the fall of 2014, almost exactly a decade ago. As a new Fabiano Hall Resident Assistant (RA) at barely 20 years old, Maddie was ecstatic to meet her fellow RA's. What she didn't know at the time was that the love of her life, Elio, would be among them as the "unofficial" RA. Elio, being roommates with one RA and best friends with another, quickly integrated into the group. We became fast friends. The semester ended and we were both surprised to be texting each other during the winter break. Once we returned, suddenly we were regularly having lunch in the café, watching movies in each other’s dorms and introducing each other to our other friend groups. Still just as friends, of course. That is, until Valentine's Day. Neither of us had plans and so we decided to watch a movie while Maddie was on duty. Before the second set of rounds Elio shared he may have liked Maddie as more than a friend. While at first a bit hesitant to shift from friends to more, we went on a date to IHOP (as "ballers on a budget") about a month later. Dancing in the snow outside of the Mt. Pleasant IHOP sparked the match and we've been together ever since. While we may disagree which of the dates is our anniversary, that only means that for the past 10 years we've had twice the celebrations. Over the past decade, we've dated through distance as we graduated at different times, lived in Metro Detroit for 5 years, moved to Florida, met beautiful nieces & nephews, and said goodbye to Maddie's Uncle Mike, cousin Davis, and most recently her Dad, Daniel Davis. Heartbreaks, joys, new experiences and fond memories over the past decade saw the spark continue to grow into a flame of love and support. On September 30, 2023, we were able to ignite the fires of love as we were married in a small ceremony outside of Maddie's parents’ house. Where our Dad's blessed our marriage, our Mom's signed our marriage license, and where we were able to share dances and laughter with a few of those who helped raise us. Now, we ask you all to save us a dance in celebration of our love for each other and all of you, our beloved family and friends, on November 23, 2024. Please come celebrate the makings of a new anniversary with us and close out our first decade together as we welcome our next.