Christian and Stacey first crossed paths at a whiskey tasting hosted by their friend Viv. Although Christian immediately noticed how beautiful Stacey was, the two barely spoke that night. Months later, they ran into each other again at a holiday party. Christian recognized Stacey and confidently walked up to her… only to call her by the wrong name. Undeterred by his initial mistake, and completely entranced by this beautiful woman wearing a dress that highlighted the features of her body in an almost hypnotizing way, Christian initiated conversation. Christian left feeling a spark; Stacey, on the other hand, barely remembers the interaction. After some encouragement (and wildly inaccurate intel on her dating availability) from his friend Katie, Christian decided to shoot his shot and asked Stacey out. Stacey politely declined, but the seed had been planted. In January, fate intervened. Christian’s friend redeemed herself when she messaged Christian that Stacey was available and that she was asking about him. Christian encouraged Katie to talk him up as much as possible and she confirmed that she had not only already done so but also convinced Stacey to come to the next Whiskey Night at Viv’s. So Christian spent more time than normal the evening of Whiskey night putting himself together and making sure that he looked irresistible to Stacey. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to lay his patented charm down on Stacey as she did not make it to Whiskey night in the end. Christian would have to wait a few weeks longer until he’d get to see Stacey again. The two finally connected a few weeks later at Viv’s birthday party. Christian was in his classic black jeans and leather jacket look and much to his chagrin, so was Stacey. Christian went to his friend Katie yet again, hoping she’d give him a good opening line. It just so happened that Stacey was reading a book called Fourth Wing that her brother-in-law Hall (big romantacy guy) had gifted her for Christmas. So Christian went up to Stacey and said “I like your riding leathers.” Christian executed this perfectly, and Stacey melted. Not long after, Christian was about to embark on a two-month adventure that would take him out of DC and across the country. Rather than let the moment pass, they squeezed in a first official date just days before he left. Over dinner and great conversation, it became obvious that their connection was real — even if the timing wasn’t ideal. What followed was weeks of constant texting, calls across time zones, and realizing that distance only made their bond stronger. Halfway through Christian’s travels, he pitched flying her out to Colorado for a romantic ski weekend at Beaver Creek. It was a bit bold for a second date, but Christian has never really been anything less than bold. Despite a man inviting you to a ski weekend in Colorado for a second date having all the markings of a serial killer, Stacey decided to throw caution to the wind and say yes. This was of course after Stacey’s mom, Patsy, had ever so brazenly, looked Christian up on LinkedIn. An amazing weekend in Beaver Creek and a stop in Omaha to visit Stacey and her friends Kelsey and Courtney would be just enough to keep the spark alive until Christian was back in DC. He ended up shortening his trip, realizing he wanted to get back to DC as soon as possible and begin the rest of his life with Stacey. When Christian finally returned, the two quickly fell into an easy rhythm, spending as much time together as possible. Christian asked Stacey if she would be his girlfriend and she of course denied him yet again, though Christian to this day thinks she was just trolling him. Eventually, Stacey said yes — and the rest, as they say, is history. What started with a series of chance encounters, near-misses, wrong names, rejections, and “bad timing” slowly turned into a love story neither of them could have planned, but both are endlessly grateful for.