Our love story began in the most unexpected of places—a broom closet at Victoria Hospital in our small hometown of London, Ontario. On a sweltering summer day, we were both working as summer students, unaware that a chance encounter among mops and cleaning supplies would change our lives forever. While Melissa was in a supply closet on her break, Mike walked in unexpectedly, bringing his cheeky charm. He introduced himself and made up a story, convincing Melissa that he needed her phone number to invite her to weekend plans with other colleagues. His real motive? To get Melissa's number for himself. Captivated yet incredibly nervous by Mike's confidence in such a small broom closet, Melissa didn’t hesitate to share her number. As we parted ways, Melissa immediately ran out of the hospital to call her mom, declaring, “Mom, I just met my future husband—I just know it!” When the weekend “plans” arrived, Mike revealed that everyone else had mysteriously canceled (surprise!). It turned into just the two of us sharing frozen yogurt at Menchie’s. That simple, sweet date set the tone for the love and laughter that would follow. Over the years, our relationship blossomed. We both graduated from Western University with our Master’s degrees, welcomed our pup Maya into our lives, and built a world full of beautiful memories and laughter together. We faced challenges in stride, including long-distance dating, always striving to support each other's career aspirations, no matter the distance. We navigated a brief period apart to grow individually, only to realize two years later that our love was stronger than ever. From Melissa moving to Ottawa to join Mike during the pandemic, to fate guiding us back to Toronto (our favourite city!) shortly after, every step brought us closer to the life we dreamed of, including our engagement! We got engaged in Lisbon during our 2022 trip to Spain and Portugal, but it was far from a picture-perfect proposal. The night before our early-morning flight home—while we were both running on too much wine and too little sleep—Mike decided the cramped Airbnb kitchen was the perfect stage. Without warning, he jumped onto the counter (an impressive feat given the low ceiling), nearly hit his head, and then knelt with all the grace of a baby giraffe. Melissa—half-laughing, half-crying—barely processed his heartfelt words about their future. But when he pulled out the ring, all doubt vanished, and she gave the easiest, most enthusiastic "Yes!" of her life. It was romantic, chaotic, and perfectly "us". Fast forward to today, and we have been dating for over a decade. We proudly purchased our first home in Danforth Village and are each other's very best friends, incredibly excited for what's to come. Our favorite moments are the simple ones: traveling the world, working out together, indulging in Toronto’s amazing food scene, cuddling Maya, giggling over reality TV, going for long walks, and dreaming about the family and future we’ll build together. We inspire each other to be the very best versions of ourselves and to always pursue our dreams. After more than 10 wonderful years of love and friendship, we couldn’t be more thrilled to start this next chapter as partners for life, husband and wife.