4/13/25

For a film shoot in my senior year of college, I noticed that Emily, a small but cute art student, was helping out with set painting. It was during the night shoot in the deep Texas backcountry that I noticed she was orbiting around me a lot. When a sudden rain shower happened, Emily and I happened to hide under the same overhang. No, we didn't kiss right there in the rain - that would be too honest and pure. The only way to couple off with her would be with lies and deceit. The next day, I asked if she could read a play with me out loud for class; I said that normally we do it with a study group, but they all dropped out. This was of course a lie. During our first couple of hours alone, we almost got through Act One of The Cherry Orchard, but I gained valuable intel. She was gorgeous, very empathetic, incredibly kind, and scary smart. I was obsessed. The following day, I called her and said it was my birthday (not a lie) and asked if she would like to see a movie with me and a group of friends who were also going (definitely a lie). And naturally, no one else showed up. She was sweetly suspicious as we got brain freezes from Fro-Yo and then saw a movie together and held hands for the first time. We both decided to never let go. Very soon, everyday become a playdate and adventure with my best friend. And just like that, love that sparked over a weekend grew into a delightful decade. We are so excited to celebrate with you all and create more memories together!

Towards the end of my college career, my life changed a lot very quickly. I was beginning to feel the stress of senior year approaching, my family just moved out of my childhood home, and I went through a devastating breakup. My only goal at the time was just to hang on and keep moving forward as best as I could. So, I gladly took up the opportunity to help out with some set painting for a student film project. And who else should show up in the workshop but this Soop kid, whom everyone adored and who seemed to bring an aura of warmth and positivity with him into every room. One morning, I was wedged into a tight spot on the set structure, painting a tricky corner. When he arrived in the shop, he climbed up the ladder into my corner and said, “Hey, twerp! Good morning.” That was the moment I fell in love with him. We stayed up all night together during the film shoot, sitting on the forest floor amongst lights and wires. We talked about our lives, our pain, our hopes. There was a moment where we both ducked inside the set to get out of the rain, and it started to feel romantic - until other people joined us. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long - he invited me to help him with some script reading, though we didn’t get much reading done in between talking and goofing off. And then he invited me to go out with him and some friends to see a movie for his birthday the next day. I stayed up until 1am in my dorm making him a birthday card. When I showed up and none of his friends did, I was a bit suspicious of the excuse that they dropped out at the last minute. But I was also relieved, because I got to lean in close to him when the movie got intense. In just a few days, I went from heartbroken to head over heels. And this one felt different, too. Like we had always known each other somehow, and I was finally right where I was supposed to be. Those few days turned into nine years in what feels like the blink of an eye. We both graduated and then proceeded to move across the country several times, enduring Boston winters, Alabama summers, and California wildfires. After many internships, jobs, cities, and apartments, we’ve finally been blessed with enough stability to slow down, look back on all the time that’s passed, and think about what we want for the future. So we bought matching rings.