10.22.26

Like all great love stories, neither Pilar nor Chase can pinpoint the exact memory of when they first met. Pilar’s earliest recollection of her future husband was seeing him playing frisbee in front of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity like a lizard basking in the sun. Chase recalls seeing Pilar inside that very house, a social butterfly fluttering about, where she first befriended his future long-term roommates Trystan and Grady. But Pilar and Chase's own friendship developed slowly. They frequently crossed paths at parties and high brow social events such as Jock Jamz and Beta Rave. From there, their paths diverged for a time until Pilar moved to Seattle, where Chase had been living since the year prior - enjoying post-grad life with a group of young Idaho Vandals who were all dipping their toes into real adulthood, one late night at Ozzie’s after another. In the early years of the rainy city, their friendship grew stronger, but remained just that, regardless of how many times Pilar watched Chase and Grady serenade groups of stumbling revelers with their karaoke duet of "Barbara Anne", or how often Pilar would bring pizzas over for movie nights and football Sundays. Over time, late nights that used to end with a final round at some derelict dive, began to wind down with long conversations between the two, discussing the unknowable intricacies of life or whether Pilar’s flawless memory of obscure childhood movies rented from the library was considered psychologically normal. These conversations showed them both the potential of something more. All their friends claim they saw the writing on the wall, but it wasn’t until an Indie Folk show at the Gorge Amphitheater that the walls cracked and the friendship turned into a crush, and soon after into a high-stakes, potentially-friend group-dividing relationship had things not worked out. To test this new relationship immediately (two months into dating), the couple took their first international trip to Greece with Pilar’s sister, Courtney, where Pilar learned of Chase’s unfortunate travel luck that would now also curse her for all future international trips. Yet the relationship survived and continued to grow stronger with the coming mountains and valleys of life. Forced quarantine during the pandemic taught them that they could survive and enjoy living together. Deciding to not sign a lease and moving nomadically five times in a year taught them that they can lean on each other in stressful times. New jobs and new adventures in Portland, OR taught them that they can always count on each other to keep life fresh and exciting. Fostering many kittens taught them that responsibility can be a gift, but that it’s also nice to go back to having much less responsibility after a few weeks or so. It is uncertain what planning an international wedding and marriage will teach them, but they can’t wait to find out and most of all, can't wait to create more memories with all their friends and family.