Julie and Dylan met in the basement of Emerson Hall at Miami University in August 2017, both arriving two weeks before the rest of campus to begin their junior year and their first year as resident assistants. They had never crossed paths before, but fate (and RA training) paired them for an icebreaker activity. First impressions were… not promising. Dylan looked like the quintessential Miami finance bro fresh off a study‑abroad trip, complete with a button‑down and salmon shorts. Julie, meanwhile, was thoroughly unimpressed and mildly irritated to be wasting time on icebreakers when she had exams she could be studying for. But over the course of the year, something shifted. Working side‑by‑side as RAs, their friendship grew slowly and naturally. Evenings that started with the whole staff hanging out gradually turned into evenings spent just the two of them — usually playing Bananagrams, talking about their days, and discovering how easy it was to be around each other. Julie realized that beneath the finance‑bro exterior was someone genuinely kind, funny, and smart. Dylan realized that Julie’s no‑nonsense, studious exterior came with a warm, thoughtful, quietly hilarious personality he loved being around. Before leaving for summer 2018, they convinced their boss to put them on the same floor the following year — a decision that felt small at the time but would end up shaping everything. That summer, they visited each other’s hometowns under the guise of determining whether Cleveland or Columbus had the superior zoo (Julie will forever claim Cleveland). By the time they returned to campus in August, their friendship had deepened into something more. On August 19, while hammocking in the Formal Gardens, Julie asked Dylan out — a moment that was equal parts simple and life‑changing. Since then, they’ve navigated nearly every phase of early adulthood together: finishing college, landing their first jobs in different cities, weathering long‑distance through a pandemic, and finally building a life together in Columbus when Julie moved there 4.5 years ago. With each chapter, they’ve grown closer, learned more about themselves and each other, and built a partnership rooted in humor, steadiness, and genuine joy. Now, after eight years of memories — from Bananagrams battles to zoo debates to everything in between — they can’t wait to tie the knot and begin the next chapter as husband and wife.