Two college students met working at a 24-hour play festival in the fall of 2010, he was the lighting technician, she was the stage manager. This grew into becoming coworkers at Foellinger Auditorium, and then inseparable friends. While the two were often mistaken for a couple, they stayed just friends. Mostly.

Fast forward 10 years. The two had stayed in touch and had gotten closer when both had more downtime during COVID, ruining sleep schedules to chat long into the night, him in Madison, Wisconsin, and her in Silver Spring, Maryland. When the timing aligned for her to take a long camping trip in 2021, they decided to embark on it together. Over 16 days and 2,500 miles, they visited 5 National Parks, hiked at high altitudes, saw wildlife great and small, and sang along to countless musicals in the car. When it came time to part again, it was clear they had to stay together. He was able to relocate to Chicago, and she took the plunge to restart her career in a new city. After a year of calling Chicago home, they were engaged.

The two had talked about engagements and proposals in the abstract, and they decided that each would propose to the other before telling people. She proposed to him at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco in May of 2024 with a ring made with some of their cat's fallen whiskers, and he proposed to her in August at a beloved Chicago restaurant, North Pond, with a rose gold ring set with moissanite.