In a small town named Mancora on the east coast of Peru I discovered something I never realized I needed in my life: Nick & Tani. At first the boys were a little stand offish to two loud Australian boys but this was soon to change. Over the course of the next few months a friendship was crafted through partying, budget flamingo tours, laughing so hard you thought you were going to die and almost actually dying on the regular. We had mustache trims together, talked world politics over bottles of vino and finished 9 Britney Spears playlists. I met some truly special people on my year travelling but I must say there would be very few I would travel half way across the world to see get married. All my love in the world to you both and I wish you all the happiness in the world. Dale xoxo

Nick and I have been friends since we were 16 years old. Needless to say, we've been present for most major moments of each other's lives over the last 15 years. But when tasked about thinking when Nick met Tani, I couldn't identify a specific moment. To me, that means Tani has become perfectly immersed in our lives. Was it the 4th of July party on the roof? Dinner at Jin Ramen? I'm not sure. It all seems a blur. What I do remember are the countless dinners and travels spent together seeing my friend happy with his new found love. Tani blended so well into our lives, it's impossible pinpoint a moment without him.

As Tani's partner in crime/work wife, spending from sunrise to sunset together teaching in BedStuy, Brooklyn, I so vividly remember when Nick and Tani began: It was the dead of winter in our second year of teaching, where we would go on one/two dates a month. Tani and just had a string of 'meh' dates and just had gone out with Nick. Me as usual, "HOW WAS YOUR DATE?" I saw a tiny pre-coffee smile from Tani and he said "honestly.....I could not stop laughing....it was weird." I knew that something was up, and spent the rest of my morning following Tani from class to class to try and get him to tell me some details in between teaching History. As the first few dates continued to a few more, Tani's follow up continued to get a little bit more weary and ever so slyly, a little bit more excited. A few more dates in and.... "ok....Maya it's time for you to meet him....really need your honest opinion here." I couldn't have been more excited to meet Nick as winter slowly turned to Spring. The first time we met we met at Berry Park, in Williamsburg, and it was a gray day in New York City,, While we had slowly sipped on our beers, Nick sauntered in with the biggest smile on his face, a checkered button down and his briefcase; within the first few minutes of meeting me, I remember him saying "WORK those eyebrows!" Earlier that day I had finally made it to get my eyebrows done, and it was love at first eye-brow sight! Within moments, my now husband, Evan, and Nick were playing beer pong, and a few hours later, we were all chatting up a storm while it semi-rained on this roof. Evan, turned to me a few times that day and said "wow this guy is SUCH a good guy." But the most amazing part of it all....was getting to see Tani around him. His whole body smiled (and still smiles) in Nick's presence, no matter how sarcastically he tries to hide it, and in this first meeting, we all knew that Nick, and the energy that Nick brings, was something special.

The first time I met Tani was when Nick brought him to see our friend Dru in Man of La Mancha. The show was on tour and was coming through the Bronx, so Tani already got major points for agreeing to make the trek. For anyone who knows Nick, he is definitely not a wallflower, and he often brings out the most boisterous side of his friends. To be the odd man out when a group of our friends get together can be intimidating to say the least. Tani killed it. He was kind and sincere, easy to talk to, and even pretended to care about the stories behind our weird inside jokes that DEFINITELY aren’t funny to anyone who wasn’t there (and even some people that were). After we parted ways for the evening, I texted Nick that I really liked Tani. After that, it was rare to talk to Nick and hear updates on his life without hearing Tani’s name come up. Knowing Nick for as long as I had, I knew it took a lot for him to refer to someone as his boyfriend. When that term started flying around, I knew this relationship was really serious. As I spent more time with them as a couple, I saw that they perfectly balanced each other out. I also came to discover Tani’s razor-sharp wit and humor— a major necessity for keeping up with Nick. Tani was fully inducted into the friend group and became someone I could easily hang out with one on one (although Nick would literally never let that happen…his fomo is too real.) Nick is one of the best people I know— smart, funny, caring, magnetic, and ridiculous in the best way— and to bear witness to him finding his other half has been amazing. I can’t wait to celebrate them this August and dance the night away. Knowing them, we’re in for a PARTY.

Tani and I once had a secret blog together where we talked about our online dating adventures. We called or texted each other after really good dates or big fights with our SOs to say, “Something just happened, we need to get drinks right now.” Tani and I had spent quite a bit of time talking over things like the slightly offensive joke Nick had texted Tani and whether Tani should Say Something About It and whether it was a Bad Sign (he did and it wasn’t). When I finally met Nick, he committed two major faux pas as far as I was concerned: he told me he wasn’t much of a reader or much of a traveler. I was proven wrong a few weeks later; I remember standing outside a restaurant for what I remember as at least an hour with Tani, Nick, and Tani’s grandmother. Tani was stressed and I was anxious, so Nick carried the entire conversation by himself and made us all laugh in the process. I finally understood that Nick was exactly who Tani needed: somebody who would guide him through stressful situations with grace and humor, who would encourage him to take time for joy, and who would show him by example that sometimes you need a little RuPaul mixed in with your Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I’ve never been happier to realize I was dead wrong, and I feel so grateful that I get to have lifelong friendships with both of these guys.

In the months and years when we were all adjusting to post-college adult life in NYC, I grew to depend on friends who became family. Tani continues to be one of these core people in my life. Patient, loyal, and thoughtful as ever, he is one of the greatest friends and I'm so lucky to have had him in my life for over a decade. During our usual rotation of updates, Tani described Nick as someone who would always make him laugh, and I sensed that this might be someone who would be in our lives for a long time. It would be couple of few months before would fly to meet Tani and Nick in South Africa during their year of travel. At some point during those years Nick found his way into my extended chosen family, and I watched my dear friend build a life with Nick. I couldn't be happier that Tani has chosen someone who makes him the happiest I've seen, but who also brings immense joy to my own life. It goes without saying that that night in the East Village in 2014 was probably the last time that Nick didn't join us for a pitcher of margaritas, and I haven't looked back since.

Though we went to college together, Nick and I had the pleasure of bonding over a shared, horrific, restaurant job. No one has truly understood my dry, sassy sense of humor like Nick, a fellow Slytherin. There is something about Nick that is truly magical. He has a spontaneous spirit that makes you feel alive and full of joy in his presence. In particular, I remember a quick walk to the subway after work turning into a five hour journey with a bottle of wine split under the Roosevelt Island Bridge. There was always one lingering question though… Who would possibly be able to appreciate his magic and keep up with his never-ending energy, I wondered. Enter Tani. Sometimes you see two people together and know it’s just meant to be. Tani was Nick’s perfect compliment- handsome, funny, kind, and exceptionally intelligent. He also makes a mean egg bake. I can’t even remember when I first met Tani, because in a way, I don’t remember Nick without Tani, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!