Every good discovery begins with curiosity. Ours began in San Francisco 2021 the way the best ones do: with llamas and wakeboarding. Through the ancient matchmaking technique of Hinge, Tucker stumbled across Shawna’s profile, where he noticed a photo from her hike to Machu Picchu. Impressed, he made his move, asking, “Is that Machu Picchu???” Shawna, meanwhile, spotted a photo of Tucker wakeboarding (one of her favorite pastimes growing up) and another with a llama in Peru. She determined he was a qualified candidate and matched with him. What started as a connection on April Fools Day over sushi in a basement restaurant with a DJ (arguably the most quiet, intimate way to get to know someone) soon became a shared life built on curiosity, laughter, and the joy of trying new things together. Tucker grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and followed his curiosity west to Stanford, where he studied biochemistry. Shawna, raised in Petaluma, California, found her way to UC Irvine to study musical theater. On paper, we live in different worlds—one driven by data, the other by meaning. Though we operate from different sides of the brain, we love to travel when we can, cook together often (with varying levels of success), and spend most evenings entertaining our cats, Hazel and Sage. Over the years, we’ve learned how much we love discovering the world side by side, whether that means taking a glass-blowing class, learning to make gin, surfing in landlocked Texas, or simply finding new ways to make each other laugh. As our relationship continued to grow, the distance became taxing. Tucker invited Shawna to move from SF to Dallas, which for her, was a tough sell. Shawna made it clear she would not step foot in the airport without a ring on her finger. So, Tucker did what most men do at this point in life—buy a horse costume. It was no secret that Halloween or as she prefers to call it, Samhain, is Shawna's favorite holiday. Once her costume as Joan of Arc was locked in, the plan was set in motion. Melissa, Shawna's sister, locked her in for trick-or-treating in Petaluma with the kids in June. Tucker got his costume, the ring, and boarded a late flight from Dallas to SF, hopped on a bus the next day, and made his way to Petaluma. The only thing was, his location was still on. After putting it together, a minor explosion of excitement and joy, Shawna chose to play along and not ruin the surprise. Thinking the proposal would happen in the evening, Shawna was still surprised as Tucker knocked on the front door around 1pm and got down on one knee dressed as the mighty steed to my Joan of Arc. It was intimate, silly, and perfect for us. When we began thinking about our wedding, we kept returning to the idea of alchemy. On the surface, it’s where magic and science meet, but in a truer and deeper sense, it is the process of transformation through combination. It begins with two separate elements, each whole and powerful on its own, and through intention, heat, and time, they become something entirely new. Tucker’s life is grounded in science and discovery; Shawna’s path is guided by creativity and intuition. Together, we become not one, but a third element: a bond forged from shared wonder, trust, and love. We are so grateful to celebrate this next chapter with the people who have shaped, supported, and loved us along the way. Thank you for being part of it!