the future downeys

We met through mutual friends at a Masters Golf Tournament party in San Francisco in April of 2021. Midway through a global pandemic it was rare to meet in real life, but Claire walked into the party and saw an attractive tall guy, Sean noticed a pretty girl in a 49ers shirt, and the rest was history. After a few successful dates and approval from the friend groups, we were ~officially~ boyfriend and girlfriend.

The first year plus of our relationship was filled with a many adventures. Since our story began over a mutual love of Bay Area sports, it should come as no surprise that we spent (and still spend) most of our time attending Niners games, Warriors games, and Giants games. We spent both summers and winters in Lake Tahoe, where Claire reluctantly learned to snowboard for the first time. We traveled to Steamboat, CO, Austin, TX, and Chicago, IL. Sean suffered a gnarly foot injury and moved home, Claire moved to San Jose with roommates and stepped into the role of care-taker for Sean. We survived 5 months of crutches, gauze, doctors appointments, and the infamous boot while falling more in love.

2023 was a year of many firsts for us - first time living together, first big trip just the two of us, and Sean's first time owning his own dog. When we took the next step in our relationship and moved into our place together, Sean also accepted a new title - Tucker Anne's dad. Our trip to Hawaii was Claire's first time there, and we worked on our tans while consuming way too many Mai Tais. We got to celebrate our first Christmas together in our place as a little family of three, and really got to picture what a lifetime together would look like.

We were anxiously excited to head into 2024 together, because we knew it was going to be a big year for us. Sean had told Claire it was coming soon, and decided to test her patience by saying "it'll be April" and then waiting until the very last weekend in May. It was a beautiful trip to Carmel just the two of us, the weather was rainy and grey until the sun came out an hour before the planned time. Sean dropped down on one knee, Claire of course, said yes and cried. Then cried again when Sean surprised her with their entire families after. Then cried again when Sean surprised her the next day with all of their family and friends at another restaurant. And that brings us to today... We have so much love for each and every person who has been part of our journey together. We can't wait to have all of our favorite people by our sides on our biggest day yet. 8 (Steve Young) 16 (Joe Montana) 25 (Barry Bonds) - it is sure to be a legendary day.