The couple met in 2017 at a random house party in San Jose that Morgan’s older sister had dragged her to. After getting lost, showing up late, and watching her sister disappear with her friends, she found herself leaning against a wall, quietly people-watching. Then, out of nowhere, a skinny blonde Mikhail appeared beside her, opening with a joke she didn’t quite understand. Her first thought was, oh no, here we go, but to her surprise, Mikhail was sober, kind, and genuinely easy to talk to. What started as small talk turned into a spontaneous “tour” of the house and a view from the roof. With her phone broken, Morgan gave Mikhail her Snapchat, assuming they would never speak again since she was heading back to school in Texas after the summer. They were only 20 and 21, with Mikhail trying to “just have fun," and Morgan trying to "be practical" but somewhere along the way, they fell in love. Morgan went back to school and they dated long-distance until the end of winter break, when they decided to part ways to finish school. Over time, they would occasionally check in with each other, but life carried them in different directions. Fast forward to 2019, Morgan moved back to California and reached out, trying to make connections in a new state. They tried to be friends, but old feelings resurfaced, and they realized the timing still wasn’t right. They drifted apart again, this time completely out of touch. Almost two years later, fate had other plans. A like from Morgan on his first Instagram photo in years caught Mikhail’s attention and led him to check his Snap Map out of curiosity. He realized Morgan still had her location shared and saw that she was living down the street. Mikhail had recently moved back to the South Bay from San Francisco. Coincidence, or maybe something more. Mikhail sent her a message asking if she wanted to meet up for a walk, and from that afternoon on, it became a season of rediscovering each other and beginning to imagine what life could look like if they chose to share it. About three months later, Mikhail moved to San Diego for a new opportunity. They stayed in close touch and made it official despite the distance. Six months after that, when he decided to move back to the Bay Area, he asked Morgan if she wanted to move in with him. There was one catch, he had already promised his best friend Bryan that they would be roommates. Morgan said yes anyway, and the three of them built a home together. Before long, life carried them into more changes. They packed up and moved again, and then again. Two different cities, new apartments, new routines, and new versions of themselves. Through each move, through every shift and stretch of early adulthood, they changed, learned, and navigated life together. They had talked about the future since the very beginning of their relationship, but around the three year mark those conversations became more serious, helped along by a little gentle pressure from Morgan. With time, honesty, and a clearer picture of who they were becoming, they realized they wanted the same thing, a shared life built together. When Mikhail decided he was ready to propose, he chose Filoli Garden simply because he felt drawn to its beauty. What he didn’t know was that it was a place Morgan had visited with her Nanna back in high school, somewhere she had always remembered as magical. There, surrounded by quiet pathways and the kind of garden that feels like it belongs in a storybook, Mikhail got down on one knee. And in a place touched by her past and now shaped by their future, Morgan said yes. Now, here they are, ready to begin forever together.