Come Celebrate the Marriage of

On the 11th floor of Brookdale Hospital at 6am, on our Surgery rotation, the last thing on our minds was finding our soulmate. Stephanie: It was my first day in my Surgery rotation when I asked the resident there what I should do before rounding on patients. He pointed to the supply closet and said, "Go make a bucket. You can ask one of the medical students for help." And off I went to find the only medical student already making a bucket. I introduced myself and he pointed to where the buckets were so I could get started. After standing there looking confused, he came back to help me figure out what needed to be put in this bucket. The week went on and since we were both on the vascular surgery team, I naturally gravitated to the kind, welcoming face of Teguru. He was a familiar face I would sit next to during education and sometimes joke around with or gossip with about the attendings. One fateful day, he turned to me and said, "I really enjoy talking to you. We should hang out one day outside of the hospital." I happily agreed to go out with him to Apotheke later that week. And from that, standing on the corner of Canal and Bowery, catapulted the start of our romance. Teguru: I'd been awake since 4:30 AM, pounding flashcards. So, I was enjoying some alone time, jamming to my early-morning playlist while rummaging around in the supply closet, trying to prepare the bucket of surgical material for post-op dressing changes before morning rounds. I was planning on becoming a Urologist, so I needed a good grade on this rotation. Therefore, I was laser-focused on putting my best foot forward and setting myself up for a successful match--not love. But, as Steph and I are wont to say, "Man plans; God laughs." Because, unbeknownst to me at the time, that morning, I was about to feel the most momentous shoulder tap of my young life. With just a few words, "Hi, I'm Stephanie. I'm the PA student," we began writing the best first words of the amazing first chapter of the most incredible book I've ever read--The Book of Love. That tap would take me on a journey across 5000 exchanged tiktoks, 1200 days, 24 time zones, 7 national parks, 20 states, 2 continents and 1 avoided bear attack. From our first date in NYC's Chinatown, I've felt the inexorable pull toward the person whom I would love for the rest of my life. And I'm so excited to begin the next chapter in our Book of Love.