ok, let's try this again!

Chad and I grew up together, living in the same hometown and attending the same schools until leaving for college. I can distinctly remember the day he was introduced as the new kid in the fifth grade. Even then, something inexplicably drew me to him. In all reality, he annoyed the hell out of me, but there was always something else. Chad, in his true form, had no problem expressing his adoration for me from the start. In many ways, Chad was the antithesis of me. I was quiet, a straight-A student, and had every intention of getting as far away from Indiana as possible. Chad was outspoken, a trouble-maker, and probably never expected to leave. As we got older, we stayed away from each other (excluding a brief dating stunt in the eighth grade). When tragedy struck, however, we were suddenly led back towards each other. That same inexplicable draw I had towards him came rushing back. I felt this indescribable, overwhelming pain for Chad, someone I hadn't spoken to in years, that I eventually realized could only be love. We eventually dated and proceeded to survive a long-distance relationship. Finally, we settled in Chicago and the rest is history! To this day, Chad will still tell me "You've loved me since the fifth grade" and I'm finally willing to admit that it's true.

The proposal was sweet, understated, and meaningful, which Chad went on to say is how he sees me. We followed our typical Saturday morning routine of sleeping in and taking Millie for a walk. When Chad dropped to one knee, I was in total shock. It was simple and real and just about us; no frills or surprise parties. If you know me, you know I wouldn't have it any other way. We spent the day celebrating with lots of champagne and lots of great food. One of our greatest days yet!

When Covid hit in March 2020, we (like everyone else) had no idea the virus would take the toll that it has. We held out on our original plan as long as we could, but eventually had to make the unfortunate call to postpone our wedding. We cancelled all of our original plans and contemplated every option we had available (backyard wedding in Indiana, elopement to Tuscany, micro-wedding). After vaccines became available and case numbers seemed to fall, we finally landed on the agreement that we wanted the full Chicago wedding we'd both originally imagined. So we decided on Labor Day weekend with hopes of the being able to safely and whole-heartedly host our celebration. We've waited an extra year (plus some) for this, so we expect you all to party accordingly!