We met in 2016 as students at the University of Michigan. Over the course of the year, we started to spend more time together.... We loved to get coffee at Literati and do homework together, go to Michigan hockey games, and catch movies at the Michigan Theater (how many times can you watch La La Land before you just start dating? For us, three times). After months of our friends putting up with the "we're just friends" protests, we started dating in April of 2017, and had our first kiss at the U of M Law quad (in a thunderstorm!).

Over the following five+ years, we graduated college and started our careers, went on backpacking and camping trips, got to know one another's families, and are now in Berkeley, California for grad school and new adventures out West. Given all of the fun, love, and growth we've been through together, it was an easy "yes!" for me (Maria) when Chris proposed on February 26, 2022. He booked the same table where we had our first date, and concocted an excuse to get me to the Law Quad after dinner (it was February and freezing, and I was full of steak and wine, so this took some convincing). He proposed on the same spot we had our first kiss years ago, and joined some good friends afterward who were hiding out taking pictures. We are thrilled to be getting married, and SO grateful for the chance to celebrate with the friends and family who have shaped our stories along the way! Cheers!