... in Latrobe, Pennsylvania! Home of Arnold Palmer, Mister Rogers, the first Banana Split, and… you guessed it - Rachel Murray. ;-P Rachel grew up in Latrobe and had fond memories of spending weekends at her “Pap-Pap’s” cow farm just a few minutes from her childhood home. So it only seemed natural for Rachel and Ryohei to have a good ol’ fashioned barn wedding! We're so excited to welcome you to our wedding weekend, where we'll combine our Western Pennsylvania and Japanese roots. Yinz ready to パーティー?! :-)

With a natural interest in discovering people and places different from their own, Rachel and Ryohei each set off on their own adventures after high school - living, studying, and working around the world. Those paths eventually led them to Mozambique, where Rachel worked at the U.S. Embassy and Ryohei at the Japanese Embassy. One Friday night in September 2023, Rachel’s neighbor, Jolene, invited her to an “international potluck.” Before the dinner started, Jolene announced that everyone had to sit next to someone they didn’t know. Not one for letting someone else take the lead, Rachel plopped herself in the middle of the table and waited to see who would choose a seat next to her. Ryohei noticed Rachel sitting by herself and thought she was shy, so he decided to sit next to her (boy, was he in for a surprise ;-)). They spent the evening talking about Gorongosa National Park - one of their favorite spots in Mozambique. Throughout the conversation, Ryohei would translate for his friend, Taka, so that he could be part of the conversation - this little act of kindness was something that initially attracted Rachel to Ryohei. After the dinner, Rachel followed Ryohei on Instagram and invited him to a Halloween party and a happy hour. Both times he declined because he was “busy hosting the Japanese Prime Minister” (a likely story ;-)). Rachel had a strict three-invite rule: if someone declined three times, that was it. So when she invited him to her New Year’s party, it was his last chance. Luckily for her, he showed up. Everyone at the party knew Rachel was interested in Ryohei... well, everyone except Ryohei. They had a fantastic time at the party, then at the after-party, then at the after-after-party, and finally at the beach where they watched the first sunrise of 2024 together. Somewhere between the after-party and the after-after-party, Ryohei mentioned his New Year’s resolution was to learn how to drive. Rachel immediately thought this could be her inroad. ;-) A few days later, she offered him a driving lesson in the Chinese mall parking lot. Things were going great until a police officer showed up to tell them they were in trouble for not being in a "designated learners' area''. Ryohei was able to sort it out with the cops (what a smooth talker!), so they decided to get moving and head to dinner by the water. The night flew by, and before they knew it, they had been talking for five hours. It was that night they both knew this was the start of something special. Their relationship was sealed when, after a couple of dates, Ryohei invited Rachel up to his rooftop for some city views of Maputo at night. By then he’d learned she was definitely not shy, so he wasn’t that surprised when she boldly asked if he wanted to kiss her. To which he responded, “Why not?” They both started cracking up, and now it's become a catchphrase in their relationship. :-) Shortly after their first kiss, they started dating and sharing the ups and downs of daily life, as well as you know, political unrest in Mozambique, an international move to Vietnam, Ryohei starting a new job with the UN, Rachel dealing with *waves at all of this* with her job, and the list goes on. But between the chaotic moments of their lives, they grew into life partners ready to take on any challenge that comes their way. Whether it's going for a Saturday morning run together, or playing with their pup, Buckets, or adventuring in a new city and trying all the local food, they've found that every moment is made better when they're together. On June 30, 2025, on the first day of Ryohei and Rachel’s first trip together to the US, Ryohei asked Rachel if she would spend the rest of her life with him. They shared the moment at the Latrobe airport, where Rachel took her first flight - one that would lead to many more flights and eventually to Mozambique, where the two had met. Without hesitation, Rachel responded to Ryohei’s proposal: “Why not?”