After 8+ years in the making, here we are finally tying the knot. Let’s rewind to where it all began. August 2017 arrived and Maggie was fully committed to attending the University of Illinois. Choosing anywhere else would have basically been a sin. Her parents met there, along with both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and just about everyone else in her family tree. U of I was not Rapha’s first choice, but fate had other plans and sent him exactly where he needed to be to meet the love of his life. We both landed in Weston Hall for our freshman year dorm. During orientation, Rapha, being the social butterfly who can talk to literally anyone or anything, decided to run his own icebreaker session in the lounge to meet our floor mates. Shy and timid Maggie bravely stepped out of her comfort zone and joined the circle. This was the moment Rapha experienced love at first sight, although Maggie remained completely unaware. Rapha lucked out with a corner dorm room, which meant he spent the next few weeks casually admiring Maggie from down the hall while they slowly became friends and pretended it was totally normal. By October 2017, Rapha finally worked up the courage to ask Maggie out. Their first few dates took place at the luxurious Ikenberry Commons cafeteria, where they talked for hours about places they wanted to travel, foods they wanted to try, and the chaos of freshman year. After four unforgettable years at U of I, we both moved back home and spent the next few years figuring out our careers, recovering from one too many orthopedic injuries, and proving that true love survives adulthood, bad schedules, and countless hours of physical therapy. We are so excited to celebrate the next chapter of our lives together and cannot wait to see you on 10/10/26!