After 18 sunny years with her parents John and Shannon in Jacksonville, Florida, Allison decided to brave the icy tundra of Chicago to attend Loyola University. In her junior year, her two best friends (and future bridesmaids!) Lauren & Katie convinced her to join them studying abroad in Beijing, China. A friend had previously studied abroad in the same program gave her one piece of advice: "Absolutely do NOT date anyone you meet while studying abroad. It. Never. Works. Out. Ever." On one of their first days in Beijing in early January 2019, students were sent to lunch in groups organized alphabetically by first name. This was already a great start, because it meant Allison got to be in the first group rather than the last (Upchurch's are usually the caboose instead of the line leader). Little did she know, her day was about to get much better. Sitting next to her at lunch was a hilarious, outgoing, and very cute guy who kept calling himself a "proud Hoosier" even though Allison had no idea what that was. At a table of jet-lagged strangers in a foreign country, he was laughing and chatting like they were old friends. Several years later, on a different continent, Alex still makes Allison laugh every day.
Alex was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to his loving parents, Sammy and Myungjoo. A proud Hoosier, he went to college at Notre Dame and brought his love of Indiana with him. He loved peppering his future groomsmen Jack, James, and Chris on why the “Crossroads of America” wasn’t such a bad place to go to school. While Alex was busy pitching Indiana, his friends were seemingly all getting coupled up. One by one, each time a new partner entered the picture, Alex thought that he might be next. Yet 2.5 years went by without any luck. Halfway around the world in Beijing he had to go. During his third day studying abroad, the program organized a get to know each other lunch. They grouped tables alphabetically by first name. Being in a foreign country without knowing anyone, he was trying hard to make a great first impression on as many people as he could. However, in a table full of 6 people with “A” names, only one was laughing at his jokes - Allison. Pretty soon, Alex realized she was the only one he wanted to impress and make laugh.
After Alex successfully convinced Allison that dating abroad could indeed work out, they returned stateside to finish their degrees. During their senior year, they successfully navigated “long distance” between Chicago and South Bend, trying their best to visit each other every other weekend. Allison beared witness to the glory of Notre Dame football while Alex got to experience college life in the big city. Unfortunately, their senior year was interrupted by COVID. After spending a few months apart navigating lockdowns and virtual “learning”, Alex moved to Chicago in the summer of 2020. Since then, Alex and Allison have been blessed to be surrounded by amazing friends to enjoy all that Chicago has to offer - playing beach volleyball on the lakefront, exploring new neighborhoods, playing fantasy football, and even braving the cold winter with annual ski trips to Wisconsin. Alex and Allison even work at the same company, BlueCross BlueShield. Allison, the smart one, is a senior actuary, and occasionally brings candy from team events to Alex who is likely making a presentation as a manager of government strategy. Alex and Allison are so excited to be able to begin the next stage of their lives together and celebrate with their loving family and friends. Who knew that a randomly assigned lunch, halfway around the world, would lead them to this point?