To understand how we got here today, we have to rewind two weeks before we even met. Kelsey was talking to her cousin Micki, who couldn’t stop mentioning this guy named Connor—charming, kind, funny… and although Kelsey was intrigued, it was her senior year of college. She was very adamant on avoiding all romantic distractions, so it was a hard pass for her! Fast forward two weeks. Kelsey headed home for her friend Gerardo’s Halloween birthday party—and guess who showed up? That’s right: Connor. Tall, charming, dressed as a female anime character (yes, really), and completely unaware he’d already been the star of a glowing review. Feeling bold (and maybe just a little curious), Kelsey thought, “Why not throw out some flirty one-liners and see what happens?” Spoiler alert: he didn’t bite. (Hi, it’s Connor. I swear I wasn’t playing hard to get—I was just trying to be respectful to Micki! But yes, I thought she was the cutest girl at that party. I still do. And she still doesn’t believe me.) Anyway, later that night- 1 a.m. to be exact- Connor called Micki asking for Kelsey’s Snapchat. The man had a plan. That weekend, they went on their first date, ordered Pad Thai, and talked for four hours straight—so long the food went cold and the restaurant practically had to kick them out. From that moment, they were hooked. Kelsey went home and told her sister Katina, “This guy is something special.” Connor, meanwhile, became a regular on the Everett-to-Spokane route, slowly winning over not just her heart, but her whole family’s too. Sure, this relationship took work—real, sometimes long-distance, life-juggling kind of work—but what made it all possible were the people who knew us best and saw something before we did. So for making all of this possible, we say thank you—to Micki, to Gerardo, to late-night phone calls, cold Pad Thai, and to love that shows up exactly when you least expect it.