skon | ya | mio

We met in college at ASU through mutual friends. Madison was working at an ice cream shop in Tempe and Marco and our friend came by to say hello. Neither one of us could have understood how significant that moment would be but neither of us have forgotten the impression that was left. We did a lot together in our mutual group; birthdays, social gatherings (parties), motorcycle rides, lake days, and did an end-of-summer trip to Laguna Hills where Madison met Jill and Enzo for the first time in August of 2014. We had a lot of fun together, Marco was so magnetic and Madison so engaging. We think back and describe things we would do together as “if Marco was planning it, I knew it was going to be so entertaining and fun” and “if Madison was coming, I knew we were going to have a great time”. We experienced life changing events in these years, both high and low. It’s good when it’s good- it’s something really special when you can weather the bad together and have something to show for it after. Our families bonded in this time, we showed up for one another, stepping behind the curtain to realities not everyone is privy too, but it deepened our connection to one another by drawing on the family affections. We didn’t party and play as much in this phase, but we were still purposeful to maintain the friendship. We did dinners, game nights, hikes, and watched through tv show series. These were so far the most refining years of our lives. We dated other people, we made good, bad, big career-and-personal-development decisions, and somehow while our orbits seemed to be far reaching from one another, we always paused when they would intersect and it was as if no time or space had ever been from the last time we caught up. So at this point, and still for a while yet, we were entirely platonic. Though there were some key dates that started, like dawn on the horizon, to glimpse that maybe what we had together was more than what we credited it. In August 2019 Madison came to California with friends and was invited by Marco to go on a harbor cruise. It was a lovely time for everyone, but for Marco, it was the first notable moment that he realized whatever he felt wasn’t a superficial crush, or attraction to Madison. Sandwiched between Marco and Madison’s personal epiphanies was this outlier moment at the wedding of Marlee and Ben Watson. Somehow the two of us found ourselves in a pantry talking about love and what we want out of life where Madison boldly asked, “Marco, why has it never been us?”. In true rom-com cliffhanger fashion, someone came looking for Madison to sign the marriage license with Marlee and Ben. We didn't talk about it for a year and a half; at least to each other, it was certainly talked about. Shortly after that, in May of 2020, Marlee and Ben were moving to San Diego and Madison stood in a room bustling and bursting and felt as if she was alone in the room with Marco. He had always made her feel like she was the only one in the room, and he was the only one who could make her feel that way; it was then that she realized she was in love with him, and had been for a while. It was another year from that day, nearly exactly, that there would be a window that we would have an opportunity to be transparent about these developments. But at an engagement party for our best friends, Kai and Stephanie, we were called out, “how long have you been dating?... oh, you’re not?... well you should talk about it because that’s not “just” "unique" “friendship” “chemistry”...”. We were the first to leave that party and went to address the long awaited elephant in the room. In mutuality we unpacked the last 7 years of friendship, much of what we have shared here, and hoped aloud about our future. A blissful year of dating later we were engaged and a fun-filled four months later we will be married and celebrating with you!