We're eloping in Big Sur!

We met by pure chance on the hottest day of June in 2015. Maria had thrown together some last-minute plans to meet a friend at Boulevardia, Kansas City’s annual beer festival, and ended up running into a college friend, Bryan Gum, who just so happened to be sweating buckets alongside Tristan Gramling. Maria had heard Tristan’s name plenty of times thanks to Bryan’s stories back in college, but had never laid eyes on him. We like to say it wasn’t love at first sight — everyone was sunburned, drenched in sweat, and halfway regretting life choices under that brutal Kansas City sun. Maria’s friend’s makeup was melting down her cheeks, and she’s pretty sure she forgot deodorant altogether. Still, the four of us stuck together like the stickiest glue, pretending to have the time of our lives while secretly daydreaming about shade and ice water. When the festival finally wound down, we made our escape to Waldo Pizza, grateful for cold drinks, greasy slices, and the sweet blessing of air conditioning. Somewhere between cheap food, bad jokes, and laughter that hurt our stomachs, a spark lit up and it’s been burning ever since. That night, Tristan and Maria traded numbers and tumbled into a summer fling that never really found an ending. Ten years later, we’re still at it, a little sunburned at times, but laughing just as hard. :)