Lauren and Alex met in high school in Lisle, attending Benet Academy. They became immediate best friends, fell in love, and started dating at 15 at the Homecoming Dance. Alex made the first move, but Lauren made it pretty obvious she was smitten. They've been together for 14 years. I know that sounds wild, but they've really grown up and changed together for the better through each phase of life. After going to different colleges, her to Mizzou for journalism and him to U of I for engineering, they both got jobs in Chicago. (She's now a book editor for an indie publisher, and he's a crude oil scheduler for BP.) After some at-home suburbs and roomie living, they moved in together in Andersonville in 2019. They love it there—it's the perfect neighborhood. It's been a long time coming. Alex proposed to Lauren at Montrose Harbor this summer on July 27th. Lauren said yes, her and Alex's friends traveled in to surprise her, and they celebrated all weekend! A huge part of their relationship is closeness with family and long-time friends. You might know this, but their personalities come out when they have fun and joke around. They can be serious of course, but part of them is still that silly little couple making each other laugh in English class. On date nights they love to go for walks, sit by the lake, try restaurants in their neighborhood, do game nights, go bowling (Alex's fave) or to the movies (Lauren's fave). In the summer they play soccer in the park (Alex's strong suit), and in the winter they go ice skating (Lauren's strong suit). They are so excited to tie the knot in October at Cantigny Park, right between Naperville and Glen Ellyn — where it all started.